The Mary Sue Killer of the Opera
by Little Luxa
Summary: A story of Erik and a strange Mary Sue Killer getting rid of all the Mary Sues in Erik's Opera House. Filled with sharp objects, funny feelings and MARY SUES!
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:**_** I don't own Phantom. Never will**_

Chapter 1: How it all began...

"Oh Erik, help me!"a young girl cried in a sickeningly sweet voice as she slipped into the Opera Ghost's lake.

Erik slammed his fingers on the organ in frustration.

"I hope the siren gets you" He darkly muttered under his breath.

"Now Erik, that is a little harsh, don't you think?" Erik turned to see the Persian standing there with his mail.

"It is not harsh! These horrible 'Mary Sues' are driving me crazy. Ever since I was put onto that awful FanFiction site, my lair has been infiltrated by all of these girls!" The Persian rolled his eyes as the Phantom ranted. For once, the Persian was glad that he was not a popular character.

"Well that's great Erik. I brought your mail by the way" Erik turned back to his organ in disinterest.

"What did I get?"

"Well, you got lots of love notes from Phans... That Webber guy wants to make a prequel to the two other musicals he wrote about you... The managers demand that they get their money back from you..." The Persian said looking through all the pieces of mail, one by one. He paused at the last envelop.

"Erik?"

"hmm?"

"You got something from the creators of FanFiction"

Erik finally held his hand out for the Persian to him the letter. After receiving it, he opened it tiredly with a letter opener. Erik really hoped it wasn't not another invite to get interviewed by some writer. Thankfully, it wasn't. Erik eyebrows shot up after he read it. The Persian waited in silence as Erik set it down gingerly.

"What it say?"

"Read it yourself" Erik tossed the letter, which the Persian nimbly caught . He cleared his throat and said the letters contents outloud.

"_Dear Mr. O.G._

_We have heard that you are displeased at the amount of characters know as 'Mary Sues' that are in some of your stories in the FanFiction world. For your patience with these nuisances, we have decided to give you a M.S.K. or commonly know as a Mary Sue Killer. Your M.S.K. will eliminate all 'Sues' from your lair and will protect you from all rabid OCs that appear too. Your M.S.K. will arrive in two days at your lair in a wooden crate._

_Yours,_

_FFNet_"

The Persian set the letter down on a nearby table.

"What do you think of this Erik?" The Persian timidly asked.

"Two days is going to seem like forever" He dryly replied.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I don't own The Phantom of Opera**

**Chapter 2: The body in the box**

Just like the note said, the wooden crate appeared after two days. Erik was organizing some stacks of music when it happened. One moment he was sorting and then the next thing he knew there was a wooden crate in front of him. It took him so much by surprise because it just appeared that he almost fell over it. On the top it stated 'Mr. O.G.,Opera Garnier, Five cellers down' in a curly dark blue script. Erik found clasps on one of the large boxes sides. With a click, he opened the clasps. Erik hesitated before he opened it. Over the past few days he wondered what a M.S.K. would look like. Was it some machine or robot like they have in the 21st century? Erik decided to open it. After all, those Mary Sues were getting on his nerves. Erik slowly raised the lid up. He gazed in shock at what he she before him.

It was a body of a girl.

Erik had seen many girls before but he had never seen such a strange one in his life. Her hair was wavy and a navy blue, almost the color you would get from a pen. The girls skin was a white as a sheet and you could see all of her blue veins that where spread over her body. She wore a simple white shirt and dark blue pants like lots of young people wore strangest thing about her though was what was in her small pale hands. A long skinny dagger that wickedly gleamed in the light was clasped between them. Erik didn't know what to do with this possibly dead person. He reached down into the crate and was about to check if the girl still had a pulse when her eyes shot had rather large eyes. They were the same dark blue of her hair and seemed to darken around the rims of her irises, he noted before she blinked.

Erik didn't know what to do except murmur a small,"Hello."

The girl blinked again and then started to get halfway out of the box she was still in. She looked up at him her large eyes, begging for him to help her up. Erik, being the gentleman he was, gave her a hand, which she took gladly. Her hands were icy cold and tiny, Erik realized as he clumsily helped her out. As soon as she was out if the box, he dropped his hand. Her first few steps were wobbly, as if she was just learning. The girls face was twisted with frustration when she almost fell. After a couple steps though, she was fine. With the hand that didn't hold the dagger, she rummaged though a pocket until she found a crumpled piece of paper.

"Erik, the Phantom of the opera?" she asked expectantly, her voice was hushed but chilling.

"That would be me."

"Ah... yes" she put the paper away and nodded, " I'm your M.S.K. if you are wondering." She said noticing Erik's puzzled look.

"Oh," Erik said startled "It is very nice to meet you Miss?"

" The name is Ink, Ink Blot." She replied, looking around the room.

"Ink, that is a different name" Erik tried to say thoughtfully as he could but Ink just scowled at him when he spoke. "And your my Mary Sue Killer?"

"Yes, I am and I-" Ink faltered, her eyes darkening. She crouched and narrowed her eyes, looking at something behind Erik. He turned around to see a pretty girl in a white dress holding flowers wandering around his lair, absentmindedly humming.

It was a Mary Sue.

Ink sprung like a cat onto the girl with her dagger. The Sue shrieked in surprise and struggled as Ink tried to pin her down. Ink hissed in pain as she was scratched by the Sues sharp, manicured nails. Erik,frozen to the spot,watched the whole scene unfold in front of him. After a few minutes, Ink tripped the Sue,which was trying to get up,and had gained control. Holding her down with one arm, Ink plunged the dagger through the Mary Sue's heart. Erik had never heard such an awful noise before when the Mary Sue died. She sounded like a screaming banshee. Then, with a puff, the Sue then evaporated into pink glitter and scraps of paper.

Ink coughed lightly as she wiped the pink glitter off of her. Erik looked at her in horror as she put her dagger in her pocket. She had just killed a Mary Sue right in front of him. Erik had seen many things in his life of a fictional character but never had he seen someone kill a character as if it were a fly that was bugging stumbled over to her, still in a daze.

"Are... Are... Are you alright?" He finally asked.

"Fine," She said in that toneless voice of her. Erik frowned at her.

"You have a cut on you face" Erik reached out to touch the part of her cheek that got scratched by the Sue but she recoiled away right before he touched her. It was rather surprising to Erik since everyone had liked or pitied him on that FanFiction site.

"Way worse has happened to me, Sir."

"Oh," He whispered, noticing the tired look in her eyes now. " How about you get some rest? You look tired from... stopping that Mary Sue."

"Can't."

"Why not?"

"I have to be on duty at all time."

"Well, how about you join my in my library then since I was going to go there?"

"Ok, Sir," she replied as he led her down a hallway.

"You can call me, Erik."

"Well, then you can call me, Ink." Ink retorted as Erik opened the door to his small library. It was very nice with one couch, a fireplace and lots of book shelves. Erik grabbed a book and then sat down on the couch. Ink though, stood warily in the doorway. Erik gave a soft sigh and motioned for her to come in. Eventually, Ink sat on the floor near him reading some book on poetry. Every once and a while, Erik would glance at her. He didn't realize until now that she was rather scrawny and small all curled up as she read. Erik didn't really know what he thought about this Mary Sue Killer named Ink. At least not yet.

Ink looked out of the corner of her eye to see that Erik was looking at her, again. Ink slowly put down her book, bookmarking it with her finger and stared back at him. Ink was kinda surprised now that she got her first good look at him. Just like the Sue Killer Academy said, he was tall and menacing but rather handsome. This is why they gave her this case though. Ink was the best of her class, strong, smart and wouldn't fall to the charms of a character. The Academy wanted to see how well she would do with a character that she could easily relate to, was popular with the Mary Sues and was quite appealing to the eye. Ink had to admit he was rather handsome with his black slicked back hair, light skin and strong jaw. The light bounced off of his white half mask, making it more noticeable.

"What are you looking at?" Erik demanded angrily, glaring at her.

"You have quite beautiful eyes, did you know that?" She quietly said in a hushed voice "They look like gold stars twinkling in the night."

Erik sat speechless as Ink turned back to her book.

Yes, this would most likely be her hardest and most interesting job yet.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I don't own Phantom of the Opera**

**Chapter 3: Eating Habits**

Ink wasn't the worlds greatest cook. In fact, she really didn't know how to cook anything beside eggs.

"Crap," she hissed as the frying pan she was trying to get from the cupboard almost fell on the carton of eggs. Ink soon though had a large plate of scrambled eggs ready for Erik. Placing the plate on the table, she decided to wake him up before she started her search for Mary Sues. Ink crept down the hall to the library and opened the door. She rolled her eyes as she saw that Erik had fallen asleep with his face in a book. Ink grabbed his closest shoulder and shook him violently. Erik's eyes popped wide open.

"What was that for!" Erik yelled, glaring at her.

"That sir, was your wake up call. Your breakfast is ready, by the way." She replied as she walked away from him and went down the hall. Erik strutted towards her angrily, he had never been so disrespected in his life. Ink saw that he had followed her and motioned for he to go to the table. When Erik got to the table he stared blankly down at the plate of eggs.

"I don't eat."

"I know that," Ink responded as she polished her dagger with a blue cloth "but your eating today"

Erik scoffed at this and started to make his way to his organ when he was pulled back by the back of his suit. Erik stared in surprise as Ink dragged him over to table and made him sit down. She was stronger then he thought she would be.

"Look mister, your eating those eggs and your not leaving until you do."

"Make me," Erik snarled. Ink smirked and picked up the fork. Before Erik could blink, Ink was shoving eggs down his throat. Erik glared as he swallowed the forkful, only to that Ink would feed him more eggs. After half of the eggs were eaten, she finally set down the fork.

"May I ask why you forced me to eat?" Erik growled, still sitting down.

"I am not letting my employer starve himself," Ink said as she reached into the crate that was still there from last night and pulled out a large suitcase. She walked back over to the table and gently set the suitcase down on its side. Erik watched curiously, now nibbling on the eggs without noticing, as Ink opened it up. The first thing Ink pulled out was a small brown box.

"It holds my knives," She told Erik, not even looking up. She then unpacked a crossbow, a machine gun, a wooden stake, and a few throwing stars. Ink looked at them fondly for a moment then shut the cover of the suitcase and looked up at Erik.

"Is there a place where I can store my clothes?" Erik blinked and nodded. Ink picked the suitcase and smirked as Erik got up.

"Good job finishing your eggs, Erik," Erik looked down and saw that he really did finish all of them.

"Damn that sneaky girl!" he muttered under his breath as he led her to Christine's old bedroom. Ink frowned as Erik opened the door.

"This is Christine's room."

"And how can you tell that?" Erik asked is a rather tired but still sarcastic voice.

"No other room in the world has a swan bed." she glanced at him curiously as he walked into the room. Ink hesitated for a moment them entered with him.

"Are you sure it's okay if I use this room?" Ink asked as she set down her stuff.

"Why wouldn't be?"

"Well, it was Christine's..."

"After FanFiction, Mary Sues, and thousand different versions of our story I don't miss her as much. I miss her of course but sometimes I enjoy seeing that we end up in FanFictions together, even though I know Raoul is her true love." Erik dryly. Ink pursed her lips then mutely nodded and looked at him with a look of understanding.

"Thank you, for letting me use this room. I know it means a lot to you." She quietly said. They stood together in a comfortable silence until they both heard a door slam. Ink's eyes widened and she grabbed her dagger out of her pocket.

"Ink wait!" Erik protested as she ran from the room " That's the... Persian."

He entered the main room to see that the Persian was cowering under Ink's dagger.

"He's allowed to be here, Ink," Ink quickly put her dagger in her pocket.

"Erik, who on earth is this?" the Persian sputtered, still looking at Ink nervously.

"She is my M.S.K." Erik said as he motioned the trembling Persian to sit at the table.

"THAT'S your M.S.K.?" the Persian squeaked. Ink scowled but remained calm.

"Yes, I am the M.S.K. and I apologize for my behavior before. I was under the intention that you where a Mary Sue." Ink cooly said. The Persian weakly nodded. Suddenly, angelic sing was heard.

"In sleep he sang to me... In dreams he came..."

Ink smirked and pulled out her knife again.

"Well, speak of the devil and she will come... Excuse me gentlemen, but I have a Mary Sue to deal with." and with that, Ink left them alone.

"Will she be alright?" the Persian timidly asked.

"She has killed a Mary Sue right in front of me, I am positive that she can do it once more." both of the men winced as they heard a shrill scream and then silence. A few minutes later Ink reappeared, covered in pink glitter and limping.

"Stupid musical Sues... Always singing..." She grumbled as she walked over to the table and sat down, rubbing her leg.

"Are you hurt?" the Persian asked very concerned.

"She just stabbed me with her high heeled shoe, that's all. It might leave a small bruise but otherwise I am in top condition." Ink answered with a small grimace.

"Okay..." the Persian said awkwardly and then handed a large stack of letters to Erik "Well, here is todays mail... I got to go now..." the Persian ran off, leaving Erik and Ink alone.

"He seems... nice," Ink forced out. Erik grunted and rummaged through the mail.

"You got something," Erik handed her a lime green envelope. Ink opened it without hesitation and smirked.

"Who is it from?"

"Scottie."

"Who is Scottie?"

"She is my best friend, she's a Mary Sue killer too."

"How did she know you where here?"

"I gave her your address."

"What did she say?"

"You ask a lot of questions," Ink sighed and put the letter in her pocket. Erik shrugged and looked through the rest of the large pile of letters. After what seemed forever, he got through them all. Erik realized that it had been very quiet as he was checking the mail. He looked up and saw that Ink had fallen asleep on the table, right next to all her weapons. Erik quietly chuckled, she looked quite... innocent when she wasn't killing Mary Sues or shoving eggs down his throat. He gently walked over to her and picked her up in his arms easily. It felt like she weighed as much as a feather. His jaw almost dropped when she started to snuggle into him, making odd noises from the back of her throat. Erik slowly walked down the hallway and opened up the door to Christine's old bed room. The door unfortunately, squeaked very loudly and woke Ink up.

"What the heck? Erik?" Ink mumbled groggily. Erik put his finger on her lips. It startled him how soft and warm her lips were.

"This is a really screwy dream..." Ink muttered and fell asleep again in his arms. Erik stayed still for moment, making sure that she really was asleep. He then walked over to the swan bed, pulling the covers back with one hand. Erik gently slid her under the covers. Pushing a strand of her inky blue hair out of her face, he smiled. She was a stubborn person, that was very certain. But, in this sleepy state she seemed rather nice, not like the cold and moody killer he had met. Using both of his hands, Erik pulled the covers up just to under her pale neck. As he left the room, Erik smirked. He couldn't wait to see how ticked off she would be when she realizes that her dream wasn't a dream.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I don't own Phantom of the Opera**

**Chapter 4: Her wrath**

Erik was so caught up in his music before he was almost choked to death by Ink,that he didn't even hear her enter. He was composing in the music room on the piano. Erik scowled and scribbled out the last measure.

"No... No..." He groaned in frustration, slamming his hands on the keys. Suddenly, there were two cold hands on his neck. Erik's eyes widened, he already knew whos hand those belonged to

"Why the hell did you put me in the bed?" Ink hissed in a dangerously low voice. Erik simply grunted because he didn't have enough air to speak. Thankfully, Ink noticed he could not breathe and loosened her gripe.

"You feel asleep on the table" He rasped. Ink growled in the back of her throat, eyes glaring with hatred.

"If I fall asleep on the table, LEAVE me there!" She snarled "Got it?"

"Fine," Erik grumpily muttered. He just wanted Ink's soft, cold hands off of his neck right now. Ink sighed angrily and let go to put her head in her hands.

"Do you feel better now? After, you know, sleeping?"

"No," Her brisk response was as she turned away to open the door.

As soon as she open the door a crack, Ink instantly shut the door and pressed her back against it.

"Lord help us..." She groaned softly, "we are under attack by a group of Mary Sues."

"So? You have beaten them before. I saw you."

"Well that is when I had a weapon, I am weaponless at the moment, because some idiot took the dagger out of my pocket when he put me to bed."

"I didn't want you to cut yourself while you were asleep!" Erik protested. Ink scowled and opened the door again slightly. She frowned, there was five of them. Ink had never taken on five alone without a weapon in her hand. Erik watched her curiously as she ran her fingers and seethed to herself silently. Ink straightened up and opened the door wide.

"You may want to play the piano loudly, you know, to drown out their screams. This will be messy." She advised as she went out the door. Erik rose and silently follow her. He partially was concerned for her safety while half of him wanted to see how she would deal with the Mary Sues. Ink glared at him when she realized that Erik was following her but stayed silent.

The five Sues were clustered near the hallway, probably looking for the music room or Erik's bedroom. They are were perfect and very beautiful looking with pouty lips, huge eyes, tiny waists and shiny hair. Erik stayed in the shadows, not wanting any girls to attack him. He watched as Ink slipped past them by hiding in the dark corners like him. She silently made her way over to the table and grabbed her dagger. Moments later, Ink was upon them. The screams didn't startle Erik now, since he had heard them before, but he still gawked at how powerful and deadly Ink was.

The first Sue was killed almost instantly. She was slashed in the stomach by Ink and then pushed down to the floor, where she crumbled into a pile of glitter and scarps of paper. The second Sue went down the same way with a horrid wail. By then, the other three had scattered in different directions while shrieking and flailing their arms around. Ink seemed to be enjoying herself and smirked as she tripped the one in a long ball gown. The Mary Sue franticly kicked off a high heel shoe as she fell, hoping to hurt Ink. Ink furiously snarled as it hit her right below her eye. Using her dagger with one hand and coving her eye with the other, Ink slit her throat mercilessly. She rose and searched for one of the last two. Ink grinned as she saw the one had twisted her ankle while running in her pointe ballet shoes and was on the floor, whimpering. Erik watched in horror as she killed the wounded girl without sympathy. He knew it was her job to kill Mary Sues but to kill an injured one? Ink looked up to see that at the end of the hallway a door was hanging open.

"Bingo," She whispered. Ink hadn't gone into that room before but she knew what it must be; Erik's bedroom. Ink slowly walked to the door, gripping her dagger tightly. Erik silently followed behind her. Whines and soft moaning was heard from inside. Ink walked in to see that the Mary Sue had crawled into the infamous coffin. The Sue's eye widened in terror as Ink loomed over her. Erik almost felt rather sorry for the trembling Mary Sue.

"Please, don't hurt me!" the Sue squeaked and looked over Ink's shoulder to see an emotionless Erik

"Erik! Oh Erik! Save me Erik! Please! I Love-"

The Mary Sue never finished her sentence. Ink stabbed her in the chest and pulled the dagger out of her body so fast that the Mary Sue couldn't even scream before she turned into pink glitter. The only sounds left in the house on the lake was the labored breathing of Ink and both of their fast heartbeats. Ink gripped onto the side of the coffin to calm herself and to stop the rushing adrenaline in her veins. Erik looked at her worriedly and stepped closer to her. As soon as he tried to touch her, Ink flinched. Erik moved back then, not wanting to upset her. Ink started to shake. Erik frowned as she started to make a noise. At first he didn't know what she was doing but then Erik realized what doing. Ink was quietly laughing. Her cold dark laughter grew louder and louder until it filled the entire room. As sudden as it started, it stopped. Ink sank to her knees and rested her forehead on the coffin. She stayed perfectly still for a minute, looking like she was a statue, not a person. Erik didn't know what to do except blankly stare with a look of horror on his face. Slowly, Ink turned around and looked at him with slightly glassy eyes.

"I better clean up." She mumbled and got off the floor. She looked like a mess dripping with sweat and glitter all over her and with a large bruise on her eye that was swelling and turning black. She stumbled out of the room, leaving the petrified Erik alone. He stared at his coffin, covered in glitter and blinked.


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I don't own Phantom**

**Chapter 5: A glass of wine**

Ink couldn't sleep. Shifting to her side she looked at her alarm clock she brought with her. It was two in the morning. Ink groaned loudly into the velvety red pillow, wishing she could fall asleep.

It has been three weeks since Ink first arrived. Three weeks of nonstop killing Mary Sues and forcing Erik to eat and sleep. They had a daily routine that just naturally started to happen after the first week. Ink would get up first and make breakfast. Usually she skipped breakfast herself, but Erik didn't know that. Then she would head out to the catacombs with a map that Erik gave her to hunt down Mary Sues until suppertime. Meanwhile, Erik would wake up and grudgingly eat a part of his breakfast because he knew that Ink would somehow find out if he didn't. Sometimes he would talk to the Persian when he delivered their mail and took the letters Ink wanted to send and he then compose music in the music room. Other days, he would ignore the Persian and compose until supper time. Ink would come back to the house on the lake and cook a small supper for both of them. Erik take his food to his bedroom and wouldn't come out until he was done eating. Ink would eat at the dinner table alone and read the mail she got or write a letter. After Erik came out with a plate that was partially eaten, they both would head over to the little library and read alone for a few hours. They both would solemnly say goodnight to each other and then go to their bedrooms until the next morning, when the cycle would repeat.

Ink stretched and got out of the giant swan bed that she had grown quite fond of and put on her navy blue slippers. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes as she opened the door. As quietly as she could, Ink tiptoed down the utterly dark hallway to Erik's bedroom. She hesitated before she turned the doorknob but then did it anyways. Ink grinned to herself at the thought of herself breaking the unspoken rules of the household.

Ink had quickly learned that there are a few rules in the house on the lake that were know, but not told. They where things like; not talking about Christine, not touching Erik's music, not touching the organ or piano, or not asking any personal questions about Erik's past. The biggest one though, was Erik's mask. Ink knew she should never stare, touch, talk about, or question Erik's mask. God help her if she tried to take it off. Another thing Ink wasn't supposed to do was to go into Erik's room uninvited.

Ink slowly pushed the door open. She shuddered at the sight of the coffin. Ink was slightly scared of the large coffin that Erik slept in. Whenever she looks at it, she remembers the day she killed the five Sues in front of Erik and the horror on his face. Stuff like that made her almost feel guilty about her career, almost. Almost was the key word in that sentence.

Ink slowly walked over to the coffin and peered in. Erik was curled up slightly on his side. His mask was still on but he wasn't wearing a shirt. Ink swore she could see every rib in his ribcage. The man was so darn skinny! this guy was as tough as nails most of the time but she had never seen someone look so venerable in her life though. Ink almost jumped in the air when he twitched in his sleep. She knows she shouldn't get attached to him, it was against the Sue Killer Code, a code she followed during her entire training session and education at the academy, but Ink wishes she comfort him somehow or at least give him a hug still. She turned and leaves though, shutting the door softly behind her. Ink yawns, today she doesn't feel like killing, in fact, she doesn't want to do anything. After working her butt off for a guy who never really appreciated her, she needed a day off of work. She grinned and knew that the bottle of red wine in her suitcase that Scottie gave her 'for those stressful days' was calling her.

Erik woke up as usual. He was in a rather good mood today, humming as he put on dress shirt and a wine red vest with a black tie. When he opened the door, he frowned. Erik couldn't smell scrambled eggs like every other morning. He thought for a moment he was still waking up and couldn't smell it yet but no, he still couldn't smell eggs. Erik briskly walked down the hall hoping that he was just being paranoid and his eggs would be on the dining table like always. They weren't there though. Erik blinked in shock. Ink was wearing silky navy blue pajamas with matching slippers and siting at the table with a glass of red wine in one hand.

"Morning Erik, did you sleep well?" She asked as she set down the wine glass. Erik's mouth hung open slightly for a second but he then composed himself. He had to stay calm and not lose his temper.

"Fine," He said slightly confused. Ink gave a small smirk and went back to sipping her glass of wine slowly, her smug look still on her face. Erik stared at her a while and then loudly coughed. Ink didn't even look up at him. Erik frowned and coughed louder. He almost sighed in relief when she finally looked up at him after a while.

"Is something wrong, Erik?" Ink was cool as a cucumber on the outside but on the inside she was laughing like was so funny to see Erik all confused.

"Why aren't you doing your job?"

"Because I'm taking a day off."

"Did I say you could have a day off?"

"When did you become my boss?" Ink retorted. Erik glared at her and pursed his lips. He had to stay calm... stay calm...

"Why didn't you make me breakfast?"

"Because I'm taking a day off, I mean, really? Do I look like a wife or something? Make your own breakfast!" Erik's fists balled up and he gritted his teeth. This arrogant killer was really trying his patience. Ink ignored him though and walked with her wineglass in her hand to the little library. After not moving for five minutes, because he was still is shock, Erik then angrily followed after her. She was settling down on the couch with a black book that Erik had never seen in his library. He winced when he saw the title on the spine. It was The Phantom Of The Opera. He snatched it out Ink's hands in his rage. She softly sighed in annoyance. Must he act so immature for someone older than her? It felt like sometimes she was protecting a toddler, not a famous fictional character.

"Did you really have to do that Erik? I was in a rather good part, Raoul and Christine just got onto the rooftop." Erik flinched at her lazy reply as she turned over on the couch to her stomach.

"Why are you reading this?"

"You ask a lot of questions. But anyways, I'm reading this to get to know you better. After all, I should get to know the person I am living with, right?"

"Well, what do you know about me?" Erik demanded as Ink turned onto her back again.

Ink rolled her eyes at this and motioned for him to sit next to her.

"Your name is Erik. You don't know your last name. You have many different adaptations of your life story. In all of them you are a musical genius and have a deformity on your face EXCEPT in the Dario Argento version. Which is a terrible version by the way. You have fallen in love with a beautiful singer that you taught to sing but her old childhood sweetheart comes back and she picks him instead of you and your 'music of the night'. Sometimes you die, other times you disappear in the end. There have been tons movies, countless musicals, books and not to mention loads of FanFictions all about you. Sometimes you have a friend like the Persian or Madam Giry. Heck! Sometimes you even have a cat! And that, Phantom, is your entire life story summarized by a women who kills Mary Sues," Ink tiredly said. Erik raised an eyebrow.

"And you learned all of that by reading a book?"

"A few movies and a musical too. I wanted to know a bit about you before I came here."

"You saw the musical by ALW?" He asked.

"Yes" Ink tensely replies. She really didn't want him to know how she knew the musical extremely well...

"And what did you think of it?"

"It was beautiful, but too romantic for someone like me." Her eyes grew a little glassy as she remembered that night as she heard the music in final lair scene in the small theater and how she started to silently cry. The Phantom angrily glaring at her and Roaul's pleading look. Yes, she and that musical has quite a history...

"What was your favorite song?" Erik asked, more eager this time because he wanted to talk about music. He had never talked about music with Ink before and curious to know if she was musical herself. Ink, on the other hand, didn't really want to.

"I don't know," She whispered feebly and turned away from him. "It's just music, nothing more."

"Just MUSIC!" He roared, his temper breaking at this "Music is more than nothing! Music is love! Music is the air we breathe! Music is EVERYTHING!"

"To you? Yes, it's probably everything. Not to me though," Ink softly said, looking down at her feet. She didn't look up until Erik stormed out of the room. Ink sighed, running her hand through her hair. She hated to lie but it was for his own good and her sanity. She couldn't tell him, it was against the code.

"Masquerade, seething shadows, breathing lies... Masquerade, you can fool any friend whoever knew you..." Ink cooed so quietly that she could barely hear herself. It was true that music wasn't everything to her, it was more then that. It was her life. Ink picked up her copy of the Phantom of the Opera that Erik threw of the floor and started to read again, sipping her wine.

"Erik?" A heavily accented voice asked, breaking the silence of the past few hours. Ink sighed, it was that Persian guy. She set down her book and glass and walked down the hall to greet Erik's friend.

"Why hello, Mister Persian," Ink tried to say cheerfully as much as she could.

"Ah!" He yelped as he turned around to see Ink "Good day Miss... Blot? It is nice to see you for once. Can you tell me where Erik is?"

"Sulking in a corner, most likely. You know him, always moody." Ink quietly chuckled, "You can call me Ink, by the way."

The Persian blinked and nodded. He set a stack of letters on the dining table and started to slowly back away.

"Um... Good day Miss In,k" Ink slightly smirked to herself as she saw the Persian almost fall as he ran away from her. She sorted through all the mail and to her disappointment, it was all for Erik. Ink yawned, after all the excitement of her vacation day she really needed a nap. When Ink tried to open the door to her bed room though, she found it was locked. She frowned and tried to open the door again. The door could only lock from the inside. Ink's eyes widened as she heard a rumble of dark laughter coming from inside her room.

"Erik!"

"The one and only," Was his sarcastic reply.

"Let me in, Erik!"

"I don't really feel in the mood to get of the bed right now."

"Open up, NOW!" Ink angrily kicked the door with her foot, causing Erik to laugh louder.

"You are being really childish, Erik!"

"So are you," he smugly replies. She scowled, two could play at this game. Ink marched down to the end of the hallway and opened the door leading to Erik's room. Ink tiredly stepped into the coffin. If he was going to take his bed then she would take his. As she curled up under the blankets and nestled her head on Erik's pillow, she had to admit that it was kinda comfortable in a creepy way. Ink turned her head and inhaled into Erik's pillow. It smelled of death, musk and roses, a almost comforting smell. Burying her face into the pillow, Ink slowly shut her eyes. As she slept, she dreamed of a labyrinth where night was blind and dreams were real.


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I don't own Phantom**

**Chapter 6: Box Five**

"Ink?" a musical voice asked. Ink groaned and snuggled deeper into the blanket. There was no way she was getting out of bed today. She rarely got enough sleep, so she was sleeping today dammit!

"Ink!" The voice persisted. Ink squeezed her eyes tightly together, trying to get back to sleep. She prayed that she would be left alone for once.

"Five more minutes, Scottie," she mumbled into the pillow.

"INK!" Ink's eyes popped open as she was roughly shaken. The next thing she knew, she was staring into a pair of gold eyes that where inches away from her face. Those weren't Scottie's lime green eyes...

"Um, hello, Erik?" Ink weakly said, wishing she could drop dead so that she wouldn't be in this embarrassing situation. Erik looked partially angry and partially confused as he crossed his arms.

"May I ask why you sleeping in my coffin?" Ink winced at his cold tone.

"Because you took my bed, duh." She nervously said, slowly scooting further away. Even though Erik had moved away from her a little bit, he was still too close for comfort. Ink squirmed under his now curious look, she utterly despised when people stared at her like that. She finally sat up in the coffin and stretched with a faint yawn. Erik stepped back so Ink could clumsily jump out of his creepy coffin. She absentmindedly dusted off her pajama pants and left the room without another word.

Erik sighed and redid the bedding of his coffin. It was so strange to see someone else sleep in it besides him. He knew the it was partially his fault because he slept in her bedroom but Erik had never thought she would sleep in his coffin. After all, he only wanted a childish revenge on her. He was so shocked to find Ink all curled up and sleeping peacefully in the coffin after looking for her everywhere when he left her room. She actually smiled when she was sleeping, not a smirk, but a genuine sweet smile. Erik had never seen her really smile before, not like that. It was a rather nice smile. Erik was shaken from these thoughts by the loud close of a door. Ink had quickly changed into a light blue shirt and black leggings that fit tightly against her skin. In one hand was her prized dagger and in the other was a skinny rapier.

"Erik!" She called out, not noticing that he had walked right behind her.

"Yes?" Ink swiveled around, prepared to attack. When she realized it was Erik, she relaxed slightly and flung the rapier to a corner, were it was left. Erik smugly smirked at her startled expression.

"Oh... there you are. I was wondering if you could take me up to the opera house since I haven't been up there yet?" Ink asked with big, sweet, wide eyes. Erik really didn't want to go to the opera house today. In fact, he wished that Ink would go back to her job and leave him alone. He sighed and shook his head. Her face fell with disappointment.

" Aw... pretty please?"

"The appearance of the please does not make it any different, Ink," Erik tiredly replied. Ink silently begged with those dark blue eyes of hers. Erik tried to resist but she had an amazing pair of puppy dog eyes. He determination to say no wavered. On the inside, Ink was smirking. No one could say no to her. Ever. Not even Scottie could.

"Well I guess maybe..." He mumbled "we could go for a little while..."

"I'm glad you changed your mind," Ink wickedly grinned " now let's go!"

The little boat bobbed up and down on the lake where it was tied up when they reached it. Erik, held his hand out to help Ink get into the boat but she ignored him and got in by herself. She seemed very subdued and quiet as she sat as far away as she could from him in the boat. Erik silently untied the knot and pushed them off from the shore. They awkwardly sat together in the boat as Erik rowed them across the lake. Ink was quietly fuming to herself. Take me up to the opera house? Why did she have to ask that? She should have never asked him. Though, she only knew her way around the fifth cellar and would never want to be this close to Erik but she HAD to get fresh air and sunlight. Even though she had to hurt her ego as a demanding cold killer, she would have done anything to make Erik say yes. She hadn't seen daylight for almost a month! Ink skimmed her fingers against the calm and glassy water, making little ripples in it. After what seemed to be forever, they reached the other side of the lake.

"Stay close to me. There are lots of-"

"Traps. I know, I know. I almost fell into one during my first week here," Ink said in a bored tone.

"You did? You never told me that," Erik sputtered in surprise, even though he knew there was always a good chance that she could have died here a long time ago. It didn't seem that important to him if she lived or died at the time.

"Well, you never asked," She shrugged. Ink didn't know what was so shocking about it. She had almost died multiple times. Erik stayed silent as they walked up the twisting staircases and narrow corridors. Ink stayed close to Erik, slightly concealed in his tall and thin shadow. She was so quiet that Erik kept looking back at her to see if she was still there.

"Ah! Here we are! This goes to my box," Erik awkwardly said as he pushed the hidden door open that was in a column. Ink squinted at the blaring sunlight pouring from windows as she stepped into the box. An angelic voice was singing 'The Jewel Song' from Faust. Ink did not need to see the pained look on Erik's face to know that this must be Christine herself singing. She looked from the box to see the young singer. Gaston Leroux had described her perfectly. Christine was petite and had curly golden hair. Her bright smile and blue eyes glowed. Ink noticed that she was wearing a wedding ring. It seems that Christine really did marry Raoul. Erik looked at Christine sadly. Oh how he missed those days when he was an angel of music and he kept her under his wing. They where long gone though, only broken dreams and lost hopes of his memory. Erik never stopped looking at her until the song was finished. It was then that he was jolted back to reality. He sighed softly and turned around, about to beg to Ink that they go back now, but he couldn't. Ink was gone. Erik blinked, she must have snuck out somehow when he wasn't paying attention to her. But where could she be?

Ink looked into the mirror and shudder at the sight before her. Her disguise was a long dark brown wig that was curly and a frilly lavender dress with long sleeves that made her want to be sick. She looked almost like a Mary Sue but Ink still held her dagger and her cold blue eyes still gleamed wickedly. The girl in the mirror scowled back at herself as she straighten her wig. After she ditched Erik she decided to create a disguise so she could blend in better. After all, no one had navy blue hair in this day and age. It was sheer luck that Ink found the room where old costumes and wigs where stored. The horrid dress was rather big on her and she hated the wig that scratched into her scalp, but she would make due with what she had.

"Ugh, this wig itches..." She grumbled to herself as she put her knife in a sheaf on her arm and she opened the door that would lead her hallway near the boxes. As soon as Ink stepped into the hallway she ran face first into the Count and his younger brother, Raoul.

"Ow!" she hissed, rubbing her nose. The two men looked at her strangely.

"Who are you?" The taller one asked. What was his name? Ink always forgot the name of Raoul's older brother that died. Philippe! That was his name...

"No one of the interest to a Count and a Vicomte," Ink coldly said, trying to get past them to Box Five. Philippe frown and studied her closely. Raoul broke the silence by saying,

"Technically, my brother died in the book and I am the Count but Philippe still lives in world of our story."

"That is wonderful, I need to go," Ink tried to calmly move again but this time Philippe stopped her by grabbing her wrist tightly. Ink grit her teeth, wishing she could pull out her knife and hack off his hand.

"Why are you here?" Philippe demanded

"Because I am meeting someone here," she sneered. Raoul, backed away but Philippe stood his ground.

"In the boxes?"

"Yes, you idiot!" Ink yelled, her patience gone as she turned around and stormed off the other way. She would catch up with Erik later.

"What a strange girl," Raoul commented. Philippe slowly nodded and left Raoul. He wanted to follow this intriguing girl with pretty eyes and a temper. Raoul sighed as he saw his older brother leave him, perhaps he should go stop him. In the end, Raoul decided to go praise his beautiful wife instead.

Erik waited impatiently for Ink in his box. She still hadn't shown up yet. He impatiently tapped his long gloved fingers on his leg, pretending he was at his organ and not in this box. Erik scowled as the door leading to the box opened, Ink had a lot of explaining to do. It wasn't Ink though. Erik softly groaned as he saw a tiny girl with curly red hair enter the box. She was utterly breathtakingly beautiful and serene looking. The girl was holding a violin and bow in her hands as she entered.

"Erik!" She squealed in a girlish voice, spotting him instantly, even though he was well hidden. "Oh Erik, my love, I thought I would never see you again! It has been years since I have seen you. Don't you remember me?"

Erik shook his head, slipping his hand into his jackets pocket to grab his Punjab Lasso. It was another Mary Sue.

"It's me, Alice! Your childhood sweetheart! I never thought I would see you again after I had to move because I found out I was secretly royalty," she exclaimed, hugging him tightly before he could get his lasso out. Erik struggled, now that this Mary Sue had his arms pulled down, he couldn't strangle her. Sure, he had never killed a girl when it wasn't an accident. But there was a first time for everything...

"Now we can together forever isn't that great?" Alice gushed. Erik weakly tried to give her a smile to make her believe that he cared, but it looked more like a grimace. If he could just get her off of him, then he could easily kill her. Yet, Alice still kept hugging him though and seemed to have no intention of stopping. Erik wondered what on earth had happened to that Mary Sue killer and desperately wished she was here.

Ink wasn't having the best of luck either. She was hopelessly lost and that stupid Count was trying to silently follow her. Ink, fed up from all of this, turned around and startled him.

"Do you mind?" Philippe blinked at her bitter question. He didn't expect her to be so rude! Still, Philippe remained polite, as a Count should.

"I thought you seemed to be lost and being the gentleman I am, I was wondering if you needed help."

"Well, I am perfectly fine, so leave me alone!"

"I beg to differ, Mademoiselle," Philippe dryly said. Ink ignored him and kept searching for a way to get back to Erik's box. Philippe sighed and grabbed her wrist, making Ink turn around once again.

"Look, Mademoiselle, I will take you back to the boxes IF you tell me your name." He practically pleaded. He just wanted to know this mysterious girl's name. Ink looked warily at him for a moment, then nodded.

"My name is Ink."

"Ink," Philippe tested it out. "Mademoiselle Ink. I have never heard such a unique name."

"That's great, now take me back!" Philippe held out his arm, which Ink grudgingly took. He beamed at her.

"Let us be off Mademoiselle Ink!"

"Whatever" she grumbled, wishing she had never made this dumb disguise and was still in box five. Philippe was actually enjoying himself as he led this pretty girl up to the boxes. He was rather disappointed when they reached their destination. Ink quietly sighed in relief as she saw the door to box five.

"Will I ever see you again?" Philippe asked hopefully.

"Probably not" Ink impatiently said, wanting to leave him. She was so close to Erik...

"Oh, Well I will miss you Mademoiselle Ink," he said longingly.

"That's great, I need to go now." Ink ran to the door before Philippe could say something else.

Ink pressed her back to the door, catching her breath.

"That was close..." she breathed

"Erik! Who is that!" Ink looked up to see a Mary Sue pining Erik in a hug.

"I honestly don't know who that is Mary- I mean, Alice."

Erik stared at her strangely. At first, Ink didn't know why he said that, but then she remembered. She was still wearing her disguise! Ink coughed and spoke in a high pitched voice.

"Alice! I just found out that your brother, that was supposedly dead, has come here!"

The Mary Sue's face lit up. She squealed and jumped around the box. Quickly, after kissing Erik on his cheek, she flounced out of the room.

Erik blinked in confusion. This strange girl with an ruffled dress and pretty brown hair had just saved him.

"Who are-" Erik started to say when he was shoved into a dark corner by the girl. He realized why after the door opened a few seconds later. It was Philippe, the older brother of Christine's husband.

"Oh! Your still here!" he cried. The girl nodded, looking rather annoyed. Philippe walked up to her and grabbed her hand. "You never told me you last name."

"It's Blot," she said flatly. Erik's eyes widened. It couldn't be...

"Ink Blot, what a pretty name for a pretty girl," Philippe lowered his face and kissed Ink's hand. "Have a lovely day Mademoiselle Ink Blot." he then quickly left the box. Ink wiped off her hand in disgust.

"You can come out now, Erik," Ink tiredly said as she took off her wig, reviling her blue hair. Erik gawked at her.

"What on earth..." Erik stuttered. Ink glared at him, daring him to say anything.

"How about we just go home?"

Erik simply nodded and opened the column to take them back to the house on the lake. They where halfway there when he realized that she had called it 'home'.


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I don't own Phantom**

Chapter 7- The problem with Christine

Ink and Erik hadn't talked much since the mishap in box five. In fact, Ink had strong feeling that Erik was avoiding her for the past week. It was like he was a shadow around the house and she could only catch glimpses of him. He behaved aloof most of the time and ate some of her awful cooking but never said much. Ink didn't it mind that much though. She enjoyed silence sometimes. Sure, it was irritating once and a while for him not to speak but she couldn't have a perfect life, could she now? It made her duty easier though. But right now, she needed to FOCUS on her hunt for Mary Sues and stop think about the scattered thoughts in her mind.

Her sneakers slightly squished in the massive damp corridor she slinking across. Ink had been out all day but hadn't seen one Sue. Not one! There was no perfectly pitched singing, or musical giggles, nor was there a glittery speck in sight. Perhaps it was because she was paranoid or because she hadn't slept since that Mary Sue got away from her at box five because of that foppish count standing right outside. But Ink thought that there must be a reason that she hadn't come across any Mary Sues.

Squish, squish, squish.

Ink froze in place. Someone was here. The sound of someone, a girl most likely, cautiously walking filled Ink's ears. She quietly grinned to herself. Now she had something to occupy herself with. She pulled a long almost kitchen-like knife out of her belt. It had an unusually long hand because it was custom made for her to hold it with both of her hands if she wanted to. The noise of foot prints came closer to her. Ink could feel her muscles tense and the normal rush of adrenalin kick in. It diffidently was a girl coming her way. Ink could her breathe soft puffs of air in and out now. She crouched back and prepared to launch herself onto the girl. Almost there... NOW! Ink sprung onto the small form, a malicious grin on her face. Ink angled herself perfectly so she would pin the girl to the wall before she stabbed her. The girl squeaked in terror. Ink looked into her eyes. They were a light icy blue. She had seen these eyes before somewhere. Oh no...

"Christine?" Ink asked bewildered, dropping the knife to her side. The girl nodded and struggled weakly. Ink instantly let go of her, making Christine stumble a little.

"Oh god! I am so sorry! Did I hurt you? Oh my god! I am really sorry!" Ink rambled backing away from a very confused Christine. Ink froze, her eyes bulging out of her sockets, realizing something "Oh CRAP! Erik is going to KILL me!"

Christine paled at her words.

"You mean... He is..." she sputtered, trembling.

"Yeah, that moody man is still alive," Ink calmly said. Ink was calmer now that it seemed that Christine wasn't hurt. That was good. Erik wouldn't kill her for accidently almost killing Christine, probably. Christine's eyes rolled to the back of her head. This must have been too much for the fragile singer. After all, Erik almost killed Raoul and blew up the opera house and now knowing he was still alive. Ink swiftly caught her after she fainted. Ink sighed, when she decided to become a M.S.K. she didn't think a situation like this would come up. After much thought, Ink took Christine to the lake. She grunted in frustration as she clumsily put Christine in the boat and started to paddle them across. Ink smiled contentedly as she rowed them across. It would be nice to have someone to talk to for a while, even if it was a shy and extremely sensitive girl like Christine .

"Huh..." Christine awoke just as the boat landed next to the house on the lake.

"Ah, good! Your alive!" Ink sarcastically said, stepping out of the boat "Come on Christine..."

Ink turned around to see that Christine obeyed. She seemed very confused though. Ink opened the door and motioned for Christine to sit at the dining table. Christine hesitantly sat down but flinched when she heard Erik playing on the piano angrily.

"Don't mind him. He wont be out of there for hours," Ink said, amused.

"W...W...Who..." Christine mumbled.

"Who am I?" Ink darkly chuckled "Well... let's just say I am a slightly dangerous friend."

"I meant your name," Christine protested, fidgeting in the chair. Ink wasn't really paying attention to Christine now. She was looking over Christine's shoulder and saw a rather confused Erik. His eyes widened and he gave a glare to her that would have most likely killed her if looks could kill.

"Umm well... we can talk about me later. There are more important things to talk about," Ink stared at Christine again and then raised her voice, "And GOD DAMMIT! stop glaring at me Erik! I didn't bring her down here on purpose!"

Christine turned around and gasped as she saw her ex-teacher. Erik's mouth twitched and his eye clouded over in sorrow as he saw her. Thud! Ink stared in shock as Christine fainted... again. Was something wrong with her?

"She faints too much," she complained as she pulled Christine up from the floor. Erik almost smiled at her statement but just made his face twitch again.

"Yes she does do that a lot," Erik came over and stroked Christine's hair as Ink held her up, "I forgot how much she does it." He sighed picking her up as if she was as light as a feather and took down her the hallway like he used to do sometimes.

"I am putting her in your room," he called back to Ink.

"Thanks for asking me," She sarcastically replied. Ink frown and bit her lip, staying silent until Erik came back. She remembered what Erik just said, "You called it my room."

"Well, you live in it, it's practically yours," Erik retorted with a sneer, crossing his arms and giving her a 'your such a idiot' look.

"Shut up..." She grumbled and turned away from him. Ink flinched as he took a cold gloved hand and put it on her shoulder, making her turn around.

"Why is she here?" Erik almost pleaded, looking deflated and hopeless as he ran a hand through his hair.

"I don't know, I think she wanted to give your ring back..." Ink was tired of the strange situation too. They both slumped in silence, lost in their thoughts of what was happening. Ink turned around and stumbled into the small kitchen, opening cupboards and rummaging through them. Erik raised an eyebrow to her antics but didn't move to stop her. Ink grabbed three tea cups, a tea kettle, tea bags, and spoons.

"Get some water," She demanded and held out the tea kettle to him.

"Go do it yourself."

"Erik... your going to get water or else," Ink threatened as he scoffed at her.

"You can't threaten me, Ink."

"I am not threatening you, I am commanding you to go get water for Christine," Ink icily replied and strode off to wake up Christine. She swiftly open the door, not caring if Christine was awake or not. Christine was awake though and shivered when Ink entered.

"Well, it seems that you woke up without me needing to!" Ink said in a simpering voice as she shut the door. Christine just tilted her head and looked frightened. Ink sighed, it seemed all sarcasm was lost on her...

"Get up!" Ink demanded. But the girl whimpered, her eyes filling with tears.

"Please stop crying Christine," Ink quietly said in a firm tone, "Erik and I are preparing tea for all of us so please get out of my bed."

"Your bed!" Christine exclaimed in surprise, sitting up in the bed.

"Yep, I sleep here," Ink almost giggled at her horrified face. "I live here too," she added.

"But he is a monster!" Christine shrieked. Ink frowned, she didn't like were this was going.

"I didn't choose to live here Christine. I work for Erik all day so I live here too. Yes, he is moody, grouchy, creepy, stubborn, and has a bad temper but I would not call him a monster."

"But his face!" Christine protested. That was when Ink lost it. Her eyes darkened and she scowled at Christine.

"I don't know what you are talking about Christine. Do you know why?" Ink hissed and didn't let Christine answer her question "Because I HAVEN'T SEEN HIS DAMM FACE!" She roared. Christine had started sobbing now as Ink fumed. The door was forced open.

"Christine!" Erik asked worriedly, rushing over to her "Are you alright dear?"

Christine flinched when he came near her but she weakly nodded. Erik turned and faced Ink, fury deep in his gold eyes.

"How dare you hurt her feelings," he growled, stepping towards her menacingly. "Apologize, NOW!" He bellowed.

Ink didn't blink, in fact, she didn't even move as he came closer.

"I didn't like that she called you a monster," Ink cooly stated, raising a eyebrow "I have quite a temper, I know that myself and I know I was out if hand, but I will not apologizing for my thoughts and actions."

"Where are you going?" Erik demanded as Ink started to leave the room.

"Box five," she answered stiffly, "I need to clear my head. Enjoy your tea Christine." She then angrily slammed the door on both of them.

Christine and Erik stared at the door for a long time. Finally, they turned toward each other. Christine's eyes widened and her skin grew pale. Erik groaned on the inside. Not again... But it had already happened. Christine had fainted right on Ink's bed. Erik stood up and grasped the edge of the door, looking at Christine.

"Ink is right," Erik softly murmured, "She does faint too much."

With a sigh, Erik shut the door and leaned on the wall of the hallway, wondering what on earth he should do.


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I don't own Phantom**

**Chapter 8: How to escape an Opera Ghost  
**

If Ink was thinking properly, she would have remembered to take a map with her as she stormed off to go to box 5...

If Ink was thinking properly, she would have picked up her shoes after they fell in the house as she left...

If Ink was thinking properly, she would never have fallen into the lake because she wasn't paying attention as she rowed...

Unfortunately, Ink never really thought properly when she was upset.

This was why Ink was wandering around the cellars dripping wet and barefoot. She had been walking for a very long time, searching for a glimpse of life. Ink's whole body shivered but she trudged onwards. She believed that she was somewhere in the 4 cellar but every passageway looked the same. Ink tried to remain calm, her life depended on that. Otherwise she might forget to look out for traps in the faint they had.

"Fine!" She snapped at herself, speaking for the first time since she left the house by the the lake "I admit it! I. Am. Helplessly. LOST!" her voice echoed in the almost pitch black corridor. Ink pushed a wet strand of hair from her face. Her sopping wet clothes clung to her body, squishing as she moved. Then she heard it. The sound was very faint but she could still hear it.

Music.

Yes, Ink could hear music, but it wasn't any music.

It was music from a pipe organ.

Of course, Ink knew that there was only one person that could play like that and owned a pipe organ but, she really didn't want to be near him at the moment. She was rather reassured to know that she was still in the 5th cellar. Ink frowned as the music stopped. Perhaps she should go back... Christine might be in danger with Erik and there was no one else to save her. But then again, Ink wasn't the 'Save the Poor Maiden from the Crazy Bad Guy' type of person. She was more of the 'I Can and Will Kick Your Butt but Not Give a Crap About Your Stupid Hostages Cause I Have Better Things to Do' girl. God knows why she was never sympathetic to people besides her friends and family. Most people at her academy think her sympathy was drilled out of her brain during her training. Ink stopped walking when she hear a small shriek echo off the walls. It sounded like Christine. Ink was about to turn around, but she hesitated. For once in a blue moon, Ink was clueless on what to do. Finally, she decided to follow where the noise came from. Maybe it wasn't Christine, maybe it was Mary Sue! There was also was of course the possibility that Ink had truly gone insane. While it sounded far fetched, it wasn't impossible. After all, she had spent the last month of her life in a dark cellar that was underneath a opera house with a crazy, deformed mad man. Yep, Ink would not be that surprised if she was mentally insane, just like the person she was living with.

Ink finally realized that she needed to go back to the house on the lake when she heard a loud crash.

She started running towards the sound, blindly moving down the dark passageway. Her breathing was labored and she started to cough. Ink still trekked onwards. Yes, she was not one to save others but this was a very different day then the ones she was used to under the Opera House. But, Ink always needed something crazy to spice up her life. Didn't she?

Being the intelligent person that she was, when Ink finally found the lake, she didn't take the boat. She decided to swim.

Yes, she was not thinking properly at all. Yet she didn't think the 'siren' would come to meet her in the water, it probably had other things it was doing at the moment. Ink shivered as she did the front crawl all the way across the lake. She was at the front door, wringing out her hair and clothes in no time.

Still dripping wet, Ink was startled by the scene before her as she opened the door. The table was tipped over, sheets of music were scattered everywhere, and the few dishes they had were broken on the ground. Erik wasn't in sight though. Ink groaned, must something always bad happen when she was gone?

She could hear smashes and grunts from the music room. Ink quickly deducted that Erik was throwing a hissy fit. As she looked around, she had a bad feeling in her mind.

She hadn't seen Christine yet.

Now, Ink knew Erik had problems and was kinda crazy but she never thought he would hurt Christine. That looney man wouldn't hurt the girl he obsessed over... wouldn't he?

Ink sigh in relief when she hear a cry from her bedroom. Christine was alive. She ran over and tried to open the door, but it was locked. Ink swore under her breath, irritated that she would have to open the door some other way. Ink picked up a dented candleholder that was laying on the floor and hit the door knob with it. It made a sickening cracking sound as the door opened. Christine was hiding under the covers, only her face peeping out. The soprano's eyes widened as Ink stepped into the room.

"You're that girl!" She exclaimed. Ink rolled her eyes at this statement and started to search in her suitcase. Christine stared at her in disbelief as she pulled out the maps of the cellars that Erik gave her.

"You're sopping wet!" Christine informed her as she noticed the trail of water behind Ink.

"Well Christine, I believe if one swims across the lake, they get soaking wet from all the water" Ink dryly replied, pulling out the itchy brown wig from her adventure in box 5.

"You swam..."

"Yes, I swam. Ask your questions later please, we need to go."

"Go?" Christine asked blankly. Ink sighed and picked up Christine from the bed, making her squeak.

"Upstairs, I bet your husband is quite worried bout you"

"But Erik demanded I stayed here..." Christine said worriedly as Ink set her down so she could put on her wig "He'll harm you if we disobey him!"

"Oh yes, he will harm me most likely. But if you knew who I was, you wouldn't be that worried"

"Who really are you?" Christine asked, her eyes widening in horror as Ink brought a pistol out of her suitcase and put it in her pocket.

"Ink, the M.S.K. of the Opera" Ink smirked, then led the confused Christine out of the bedroom. Their path, unfortunately, was blocked by someone dressed entirely in black from their shoes to their mask.

"Why, hello Erik! I was just taking Christine back to the Opera House." Ink exclaimed with false enthusiasm and confidence. Erik was wearing a full face mask that was black. The mask terrified Christine, making her hide behind Ink. Ink was more worried about the thin Punjab Lasso made of catgut that Erik was fiddling with in his hands. She knew that out of all the weapons she had on her, Erik himself and his Punjab Lasso would easily kill one of them first. After all, he was a crazy but very smart assassin and she was a just a M.S.K. that had victims that usually didn't fight against her. The other problem was that she was never supposed to harm the character she was working for unless she was in grave danger.

"Christine can't leave Erik" Erik towered over both of the girls, making Christine flinch. Ink stayed expressionless and tried to them get past Erik, but it didn't work so well. On the inside though, Ink shivered when he talked in third person. He was sorta acting just like he had in the book, which just creeped Ink out even more. After a moment of uncomfortable silence, Ink coughed loudly, shivering. Her patience had snapped.

"Erik, I am wet from swimming across the lake, just plain old tires, and I am most likely have or am getting hypothermia! I am taking Christine back wether you like it or not!" She yelled at last, and tried to shove him out of the way. Erik narrowed his eyes and dropped his lasso. Then, with one hand, he picked her up by her neck, snarling. Christine screamed in shock, watching Ink dangle limply in his grip. Ink's eyes where bulging, yet she still remain calm. If she played it smartly, he would let her go. Ink stretched her index finger out as he continued to choke her and let it brush the forehead of his mask. As soon as her finger collided with the mask, Erik dropped her at Christine's feet.

"Never touch Erik's mask AGAIN!" He roared, causing Christine to almost pass out. Ink simply stood up to dust herself off and rub her now darkly bruised neck. Quickly, she grabbed Christine and rushed past the still seething Phantom, pushing him to the ground. Yanking the door open, Ink and Christine stumbled outside.

"We...need...to...swim" Ink gasped, coughing even harder then before. She wanted to deny that she was sick but she really couldn't.

"But it's improper!" Christine protested even though they were scurrying down to the shore.

"Then climb on my back..." She wheezed, coughing again as Christine awkwardly fumbled with her dress to climb on Ink's back " Please... hold onto the maps to"

As soon as Christine had the maps in her grasp, Ink started to slowly walk into the lake and dog paddled across it, leaving Christine practically dry but herself completely soaked through again. Out of the corner of her eye, Ink saw Erik in the doorway when they were halfway across the lake. He wasn't moving towards them to stop them but, his glare at her was murderous. Ink looked straight ahead, reaching the other side of the lake without looking back again. After what seemed to be hours, Ink let Christine off of her shoulders. For a moment, Christine gawked at Ink as she stood up and wrung out her brown wig and the blue hair underneath it. A uncomfortable silence went between the women that stared at each other.

"Well, that went better then I hoped. I honestly thought he was going to kill me! I guess he just plans to strangle me again when I go back."


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: I don't own Phantom**

**Chapter 9- Christine wonders what Ink's career is**

"I best be going back" Ink mumbled quietly. She was feeling uncomfortable in the situation she found herself in and started to turn to head back to the house on the lake, only to find that Christine had latched onto her arm with both of hers like a little child. Honestly? She thought looking down at the woman that was clinging to her. Ink roughly shook her off, coughing into the crook of her elbow at the same time making her feel a little dizzy. She hated nausea. One could never really think straight when they was sick and on the job. Being sick was the worst thing for a M.S.K, besides breaking the law.

"Oh please don't go, he will find me again or maybe hurt you!" Christine begged, trying to hold the sickly shivering killer. Ink wondered why she even saved her in the first place for the second time in a row. Next time, if there was a next time, she would not help a character with their silly little problems.

"That is not my problem if your found by him and I doubt he will seriously hurt me." She scoffed as she splashed her feet in the small puddles that gathered at her feet. Christine whimpered and pleaded even more to Ink, praying that this strange women would help her. Eventually Ink snapped easily cause of her short temper and throbbing headache that she was getting from the high pitched whines. Why must female characters and Mary Sues have such high and angelic voices? It gets rather annoying after a while.

"OK!" Ink roared, making her voice echo loudly "If I take you back, do you promise not to come back?"

Christine, taken aback by her harshness, said nothing more but vigorously nodded her head. Ink gave half of an amused smile to her. She was humored by the woman's childishness. The soprano was so naive and innocent to who Ink really was. Most M.S.K. were feared throughout the lands of fiction. They were the fictional warriors, a dominate force that was not only cunning but knew also how to apply it. Almost any character that wasn't a murderous killer and knew about the M.S.K. force would run in the other direction. And almost all characters have heard of them, but then again, very dew knew what they looked like. Yet this singer trusted her. Her! A mere stranger (and a very dangerous one at that!) to lead her home. The women was either very stupid or just clueless about who she was dealing with, Ink decided in the end after staring at Christine for a while. Without any further talking, Ink took the maps from Christine and started to walk down the corridor, making sure Christine followed her every step of the way.

Christine now started to look at her strangely as they kept on walking at a speedy pace. This annoyed Ink, so she menacingly glared back. She smirked as Christine shrunk away a little bit.

"Something is on your mind," Ink look forward the whole time as she talked to Christine " perhaps you should let me know."

Gasping in shock, Christine stopped in her tracks, surprised at Ink's cold tone and how she knew. Ink's laugh was smothered with another hard cough that racked her body. It seemed like Christine was a Mary Sue herself sometimes... Cause honestly, who stops in their tracks and melodramatically gasps besides those pesky Mary Sues?

" W-w-well I wanted to..."

"Spit it out already!" Ink snapped as she sharply turned the corner. She was not one to dilly dally with idle chatter. Not when Erik could catch up at any time.

"Oh! Well, I wanted to know more about you..." Christine timidly asked as she shuffled forward. Ink stopped and pivoted around to face her. Ink was surprised to see she only a little taller then the singer, she never realized how short both of them were. She tilted her head, pondering on what Christine said.

"Hmm... It seems that we are in a interesting position. You want information and I want information. The answer is very simple, you ask a question and I answer it. I ask you a question, you answer it for me, it's as easy as that."

"O-o-okay" She mumbled, still staring at her. Ink slowed down her speedy pace. It seemed that Christine was tired.

"And your first question is..." Ink lightly shoved Christine out of the way from almost falling into a trap. This startled Christine, but she continued to follow.

" You told me that you haven't looked behind his mask. Why haven't you?"

Ink sighed, out if all the things to ask, she had to ask that.

"Because I would like to live to see tomorrow and I know that if I take off his mask, I will most likely die." She snorted softly as she thought about how many different ways Erik could kill her. It was not the most pleasant topic for one to think about.

" Why are-" Ink quickly cut Christine off though by putting her hand over her mouth. Christine eyes widened. She didn't think a hand could be almost as cold as Erik's!

" Ah, Ah, Ahhh... My turn to ask a question. What did you do to make him angry?"

"Him?"

"Erik, you ninny!"

"Oh!" Ink rolled her eyes at Christine's stupidity. Could one be any dimmer? There was that guy named Philippe though...

"We umm... I sorta asked him who you were and..."

"And?" Ink raised an eyebrow.

"I asked if you were a prostitute..." Christine meekly whispered, looking at the floor. Ink froze and stared at her in disbelief. Then it started. It wasn't very loud at first but it turned into a roar.

Christine gaped at her as Ink started to laugh out loud.

"Oh god! You thought... A prostitute!... You thought I was a bloody prostitute! My god... Oh poor Erik...!" Ink said in gasps during her fit of laughing. A cough soon silenced her. Ink quickly stopped her manic laughter and became sober, her blue eyes sharp.

"I assure you, that I am no whore. I simply live in that hellhole because I work for him in a nonsexual way."

"Oh" Christine seemed to have a great relief. She had hoped her ex-teacher would not stoop so low "May I ask one more question?"

Ink raised a very dark blue eyebrow at her almost nervous tone. It seemed that she was more uncomfortable then Ink had originally thought. She gnawed her lip as she looked up at the killer. Ink curtly nodded at her pleading gaze. For once, Ink wished she was back in the house on the lake with Erik. Her social skills had gotten worse since she got out of her box and met Erik.

" You told me your name is Ink and I was wondering if your full name is Ink Blot." Christine flinched as she was pinned to the wall by a very angry Sue Killer. Ink glared darkly at her as she writhed under her strong grip.

"Before I give you your answer... I must ask, were did you hear that name?" Ink forced out of her gritted teeth, paranoid that someone knew her true identity and informed Christine about it.

"Philipe... He met a girl with hair like your wig... He has been talking all week about that girl... He said her name was Ink Blot..."

Ink groaned. Damn it! She had forgotten all about that encounter. Christine fell to the ground in tears when Ink let her go.

" My name is Ink Blot," Ink finally admitted as she pulled the sobbing wreak off the floor " and yes, I did meet your brother-in-law last week."

Christine sniffled as she started to follow her up a flight of stairs.

"Erik would rather like that you would not upset his Christine." Ink froze as she felt a hot breath of air next to her hear. She shivered as his words. He was right behind her. Ink turned, but only Christine was there. How was that possible? Ink eyes widened in horror. Didn't the book say that Erik was an excellent ventriloquist?

"Damm" Ink breathed

Christine looked at her confused, tilting her small head. Ink picked her up in her arms with a soft groan of exhaustion and started to run.

"Wha-"

"Erik... found... us..." Ink gasped and made a slick turn left. Her heart was pounding with fear as her mind raced franticly. How many more corners to turn? Her lungs felt like they were closing up. I can't breathe she thought panicked at this thought. Christine wept, clinging to her as they both heard a low chuckle this time from him. Ink stumbled but went on. She was feeling very strange. The whole area seemed to be spinning around her. She was so confused. Where was she? Ink felt so weak, her hands started to shake violently. How she wanted to close her eyes and just sleep! But she had to help Christine. Ink suddenly realized that Christine was shaking her shoulder.

" Ink! Ink Blot! You need to go to that flight of stairs! It leads to my dressing room!"

Blinking, Ink ran as fast as she could. Everything: her mind, her movements, her thoughts felt so slow. Like they were trapped in molasses.

Somehow they arrived, Ink could see through the two sided mirror. They both could see Raoul and Philippe in the room. Raoul was franticly pacing the floor and Philippe was sitting in a chair with a distracted look on his face. Christine practically flew out of her arms to open the mirror. Ink shook and stood still as the mirror started to slowly open.

"You are going to regret this, Ink, I swear to you that I will get my revenge if you step through the mirror." Erik's voice hissed dangerously in her ear. Ignoring his voice, Ink stepped through the mirror after Christine rushed through it. Ink could feel a whoosh of the cold air from the cellars one last time as she slammed the mirror door shut. Raoul rushed over to his wife, protectively wrapping his arms around her.

"Christine! Are you ok? You shouldn't have gone down there! What if that monster was still alive?"

Ink quietly stood there the whole time, waiting for the reunion to be over. Philippe looked at her in awe. It appeared that he remembered what she looked like, even though at the moment, she looked like a drowned rat wearing leggings and a tank-top.

"Umm... about that..." Everyone looked at her as she quietly spoke " Erik is not what you call deceased. In fact, he us very much alive"

Raoul's eyes widened in horror. He gripped Christine tightly.

"Christine? Is that true? Is he still alive?"

"Yes," Christine whimpered, burying her head into her husband's shoulder "Ink, she saved me from him."

Ink kneeled over, coughing painfully. Philippe rushed over to her, crouching next to her.

" it really is you, Mademoiselle Ink! Are you alright? Christine, whats wrong with her? My god, she is soaking wet!" He shouted fearfully. Ink tried to push him away but she found she couldn't. She felt so tired...,

"She swam across the lake"

"Three times..." Ink mumbled. They started to pull her off the ground. She could feel Philippe support her as Christine started to go in her wardrobe and pull something out.

"We need to get her out of those wet clothes. She catching hypothermia." Christine pulled out a long white nightgown. "Here, let me change her."

Christine took Ink from a rather reluctant Philippe and led her behind a changing screen. She wanted to protest but her mind felt all fuzzy. Ink obediently raised her hands so Christine could put the nightgown over her. It felt warm and soothing against her skin. She felt Christine take off the wig. Christine then slowly led her out from the screen.

"Her hair... It's blue..." Philippe gasped in wonder. Philippe quickly took her from Christine and held her in his arms. A hug. Ink hadn't had a hug since... since she left home. She quietly stayed in his arms, letting him hold her and stroke her hair. Ink could hear Christine and Raoul talk

"How did she find you?"

"She lives there"

"In Erik's house?"

"Yes, she has been there for some time I believe."

"My god! The poor girl... Why is there a big bruise around her neck?"

"H-h-he choked her when she rescued me."

"I'll kill him!" Philippe shouted, holding her closer to him. He must have been listening to them also.

"I need to go..." Ink quietly whispered. They all looked at her confused "I need to go back... Erik... needs me..."

Raoul shook his head as he and Christine came closer to them.

"No, you are going to stay with me and Raoul and Christine. It's ok Mademoiselle Ink, we are going to protect you. Everything is going to be ok now." His voice was calm as he stroked her hair tenderly.

"Philippe..." Ink weakly tried to break free. Yet, she felt so safe and warm. Maybe she could stay a little while...

"I'm here Ink. Don't worry, I'm here." He softly cooed in her ear, making her relax "Raoul, get the carriage. She'll be staying with us"

Raoul nodded and took Christine with him to get their ride ready. Philippe sighed and scooped up the blue haired girl bridal style. Ink stared at silently. She was confused. Ink needed to go back to Erik and be a M.S.K but her in the Count's arms she felt safe. Her eyes drooped a little bit. His hand slowly traced her jawline. Philippe quietly hummed a tune, waiting for his little brother to come back.

"I suppose I should say thanks" Ink quietly murmured looking into his warm brown eyes. Philippe shushed her but smiled.

"It is no problem Mademoiselle"

"Just call me Ink, I'm not one for formalities"

"Well Ink, just call me Philippe."

He is rather nice, she thought as he continued to hum, but not for her. Even if he was the 'right one', a M.S.K. can't be close or in a relationship with a character. It was against the law. Raoul opened the door, poking his head through it.

"Our carriage is ready."

Philippe nods and starts walking out the dressing room, Ink swaying in his arms. She craned her neck to look at the mirror. Ink could faintly see a pair of amber glowing eyes. The fury and rage inside of them worried her. But she then relaxed, as soon as she felt better and they weren't watching, she would make a run for it. Ink may be weak now, but she would be back to her old self in no time. Soon, everything will go back to normal.

" Don't you fret... I'll be back soon..." Ink quietly whispered as they went out the doorway "Erik..."

The door softly shut, leaving the still furious Phantom alone, pondering the few last words that the Mary Sue Killer had whispered before her departure with the Count.


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: I don't own Phantom**

**Chapter 10:Waking up**

The blaring light nearly blinded her as her eyes fluttered open. Ink found herself lying down in a cheery yellow and flowery printed room with huge windows. The of hue the yellow made her sick. Her head spun as she looked at the bright light that streamed in through the windows and gauzy white curtains. How long had it been since she had truly seen the sun? Ink flinched as she turned around to Philippe staring intensely at her from a chair near the bed.

"Thank the lord, your alive." He uttered in awe. Ink twisted under the blankets and sheets, uncomfortable with the look in his eyes. It was one of gladness but also of curiously. She also noticed the dark bags under his eyes. How long had he been in here, waiting?

"Yeah, I am not dead the last time I looked." Ink weakly replied, still using sarcasm. Philippe hesitantly moved towards her. She raised an eyebrow but said nothing. He slowly took her paper-white hand and held it gently as he softly rubbed it with his thumb.

"I was so worry... You have been asleep for the the past 5 days... I thought I lost you!" He murmured to her tenderly. Ink rolled her eyes disgusted. 'I thought I lost you'? How cheesy could you get? she thought at his words. Ink grumbled and roughly moved her hand away from his.

"Look Philippe, it is nice that you have been looking after me," Philippe's jaw was slightly slack at her motions. She ignored this and continued " but dont you have better things to do? Like, I don't know... Be doing more important

things, such as kissing that ballerina you fancy? Sorelli is her name, right?" Ink spat and rolled over to the other side the bed. She still felt like crap and wanted to be far away from wherever she was.

"After everyone thought I was dead, she found a new lover. We never got together again." Ink frowned at the bitterness in the Count's voice. She didn't know that had happened afterwards. She thought everyone got a happy ending in the story, besides Erik and Philippe. It seems even though Philippe and Erik are still alive, their fictional world isn't as happy as it could be.

"I am sorry. I did not know that." Her short reply somehow pleased Philippe, even though she said it unsympathetically to him. Ink could feel him put his hand on her shoulder and rubbed it gently. She had broke people's arms for doing less then that!

"Its fine" He quietly said. Ink buried her head into the soft pillow. For gods sake, couldn't he just leave now? Ink felt rested and ready to escape now. She wanted to be far away from the Count, his little brother, and that horribly naive soprano. The door slowly opened with a muffled creaking sound. Ink tried to ignore the footsteps coming into the room and focus on the clean smell of the pillow that she smothered her face in.

"Philippe, I don't think she is going to wake up anytime soon. You need to sleep. You've stayed up the past 5 days." Christine spoke in a soft voice. Ink rolled over and glared at her, making Raoul and his wife jump back in shock.

"Morning, Christine and Raoul. I'm back in the world of the living now." Ink pushed the blankets off of herself and stood up. Christine was almost instantly at her side, persisting that she get back into bed. Ink scoffed and brushed her aside. There was no way she would let any of them push her around anymore now that she was shape. Ink looked in a mirror that was on the wall next to a dresser and flinched at the sight before. Her once pale skin was now pasty and riddled with small scratches. The bags under her eyes and the wild tangles of her hair that had grown in the past month to her shoulders made her look like a insane person.

"Don't I look hideous today," Ink commented to herself as she looked at the large, dark bruise that was on her neck. It diffidently would be around for a while. She glanced at the de Chaneys and then back at the mirror. Silently, Ink opened the curtains and looked out the window. They were on the second level of the mansion. There were other large houses on the street, bustling full of life. Ink didn't know how far away she was from the opera house. She didn't even know if she was still in Paris, but she was fairly confident that they were.

"Goodness, I've almost forgotten what the sunlight looks like." Her voice was far off.

"Um, Ink?" Christine timidly asked, tapping her on the shoulder. Ink raised an eyebrow, then motioned for her to continue. "How long were you exactly down there?"

Ink fidgeted as she saw both of the men in the room stare intensely at her. It was like they were observing her like an interesting specimen. And she thought Erik was messed up... At least he ignored her half of the time. These guy were not going to let her out of sight. Or so they thought.

"Oh... You know... Around a month..." Ink's vague reply caused outrage.

"How dare he lock you up, that... monster!" Philippe raged as he stood up, rushing over to her and then held her tightly. Ink flinched as soon as he came into contact with her. Philipe looked at her, concerned. Ink tore herself from his arms and sat down on the bed. The Count looked offended; girls usually fell all over him. Not that he wanted them. Ever since Sorelli had left him, he hadn't desired another woman. But then he met her, Ink. She was so different. She was aloof and cold to him most of the time, but she seemed as meek as a little kitten when she was sick in his arms.

" Why do you do that?" He asked the killer as she smoothed the creases out of the wrinkled blankets. She was plotting the whole time, thinking how she escape from this place.

"Hmm?" She mumbled as she twirled a lock of her blue hair. She really needed a haircut. Preferably short too. All this hair in her face made her job much harder to do without her hair getting in her way.

"You flinch every time I touch you." Philippe's eyes were filled with concern, not that Ink ever noticed. Her eyes went directly to the door as it opened to show a maid holding a tray of food. The maid silently scuttled over to her and set down the tray. Ink gave her a thin half of a smile, glad that someone wasn't yammering away at her. She had forgotten how much some people enjoyed to talk. Philippe was still rambling on about something as she picked up a bright red apple. The apple shined as she cleaned it with the frilly bottom of the nightgown she had put on her. Tentatively, she bit down into it. It was rather tasty. A bit too juicy for her liking, but she didn't dare complain. As she as she had food in her stomach, Ink would be ready to go. Ink was off in her own world, thinking, until she heard Philippe shout at Raoul.

"Of course she is not going back to the opera house! That monster has beaten the poor girl!"

The piece of apple she was chewing flew out of her mouth and hit Raoul right in the face. He wrinkled as he wiped the chewed apple off of his face, disgusted.

"Your assumptions are very incorrect. He never harmed me." Her snarls made everyone stare at her. Philippe sat next to her on the bed and took her arm by the wrist. She glared at him, annoyed that he was touching her again.

"How did you get all of these then."Philippe looked at her arms. They were riddled with scrapes and brusies.

"That's none of you beeswax mister!" Ink stood up and went toward the window, facing away from all of them. She slyly smiled to her self as she realized the window could be easily opened. She had found herself a way out of this horrible place at last.

"Ink, can you please tell us what happened to you?" Ink could hear Christine's soft voice as she fingered the latch of the window that would open it. Ink sighed and turned halfway around to face them and their confused face. She probably should put them out of the dark now. It would be the wisest thing to do.

"I often get a little jostled while I hunt Mary Sues..."

"Mary Sue?" Philippe whispered, his eyes widening. Ink flipping the latch of the large window and opened it up. It was rather chilly even though it was sunny. A light breeze brushed against her hair. She flashed an evil grin back at them.

"Oh yes, I am a wonderful Mary Sue Killer if I do say so myself."

"My gods" Raoul whispered in horror "I always wondered why other fictional world had M.S.K's and we didn't. Thats why I haven't seen as many Mary Sues that aren't hiding in corners and whispering to each other. You've been killing all of they ones that have been acting foolishly."

"Oh, so they are hiding from me now?" Ink mused to herself "That explains somethings.."

"You kill people?" Christine looked she was about to faint once again.

"I almost killed you by accident, so you really shouldn't be surprised"

"Ink, my dear..." Philippe came towards her.

"SHUT UP PHILIPPE! I am NOT your anything. You are the Count that lives in a nice manor and has girls flocking around you. I'm am the Mary Sue Killer that lives with a ex-phantom in the cellar, killing characters made by fangirls. And that's the way it will always be! DO YOU UNDERSTAND!" She put one leg on the windowsill. Ink winked and put her other leg on the windowsill, sitting on it entirely.

"Good day to you all." She coldly said.

"INK! NO!" Philippe yelled running towards her. But it was too late. Ink pushed off the windowsill with all of her might.

And fell.


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: I don't own Phantom**

**Chapter 11: The chase**

A soft thump marked her landing. Ink had miraculously landed right on her feet. She somehow hadn't gotten hurt because of either great balance or just pure sheer luck. Ink herself suspected sheer luck. As she ran onto the street, Ink looked behind her to see Philippe staring out the window with a dumbfounded look on his face. Her feet hit the rough cobblestones as she sped along barefoot and clad in a nightgown. The nightgown fluttered and brightly glowed on her figure in the sunlight.

"Officer, stop that women!" Philippe shouted from out the window. Ink continued to run in the middle of the empty, noticing that the police officer Philippe was shouting to was at the end of the street. The officer looked at Philippe confused, his thick mustache quivered as he spoke.

"You mean that harlot that just jumped out the window in her nightclothes?" He asked.

"That 'harlot' can hear you and I ain't some kind of a whore, you jerk!" Ink dashed past him. Unfortunately, Ink felt a large hand grab the back of the nightgown and pull her backwards. It seems her small lucky streak had ended. The officer had grabbed her at the last second. Philippe barreled out of the house as soon as the police man caught her. He was halfway down the street when Ink panicked. There way no way she was going back with Philippe. Hell, she would rather be stuck with Erik then with him. Unless Erik was really mad at her at the time... Then she would probably stay with the foppish Count. Ink turned to the police man that was still holding onto her.

"I do apologize for this in advance, just to let you know." She calmly said before punching him in the eye. The quick impact of her fist startled the officer, making him fall backwards and let go of Ink. Philippe noticed what had happened and sped up, hoping to reach her in time. Ink was already gone though, turning the corner and running down another street. The police officer got off of the cobblestones with the help of Philipe, who finally got to the man. Now standing up, the officer and Philippe ran together after Ink. The police man blew his whistle loudly. Suddenly, police men came from all over the place, join their fellow officer.

"Oh shit!" She whispered to herself as she saw all the police men group together and start to run after.

All of them chased after Ink, who was now causing people to stop and stare at her as she speedily ran away from the tired Count and a whole fleet of Police.

"Stop right there!" Ink could hear one bellow. Another one was blowing his whistle, making more police men join the chase.

"Dammit! Can't you give me a break for gods sake?" Ink yelled back at them. Her feet were raw and bleeding from running on the street. A carriage came up near her side. She looked through the window as she was running and she grinned. Inside the carriage was none other then the Persian himself who was on the way to the Opera to deliver Erik his mail. His jaw went slack as he saw her. The Persian blinked his eyes and the small red fez he was wearing fell off of his head randomly. Ink smirked and stuck her tongue out at him.

"See ya later... Daroga," Ink then sped past his carriage. The Persian's jaw dropped even lower as a huge fleet of Police men followed Ink, yelling and blowing whistles at her. At the end of the mob of police men was Philippe, trying to catch up and was waving his hands in air like a mad man.

"She has been staying with Erik for so long that she is starting to act like him," the Persian grumbled, putting his fez back on "First she kills people like him, then she vanishes off of the face the earth for five days, she then starts to call me Daroga, and now that Sue Killer is running away from an angry mob of police men. Before I know it, she'll be running with a mask and cape on..."

Ink, on the other hand, was still running and had not yet succeeded in losing the Count and all of police men. They were now on a busier street, making it harder for both her and the mob to keep track of each other. Out of the corner of her eye, Ink saw a narrow ally that joined two streets together. She sharply turned into the alley, confusing the mob for a moment. Ink ran right into some landury that was hanging up to dry on some clothes lines.

Ack!" Her muffled voice yelped as she was blinded by a dark cape that fell on her head. With the stolen cape still in her hand, Ink reached the other street.

The mob wasn't so lucky. The police men and Philippe were tangled up in landury and the lines they were strung from. It would enough time for Ink to get away before they all got untangled.

"Where the hell am I?" Ink asked to herself. She pulled the stolen cloak over her head to hide her blue hair. She could see that the street she was on had many fancey restraunts and shop filled with pretty gowns. She looked up at the street sign.

"Rue...Scribe...?"

It tasted funny on her mouth. Somehow, she had heard that name before. Ink stuck to the shadows of the streets, trying not to catch anyones attention that was passing by. After a while, she leaned up against a gate that was mostly hidden from the sight of the street. Ink looked down at her small pale feet as she slowly took off the cloak. They were blistered and bleeding from the long run. She was so tired that she didn't notice the gate behind her open. Suddenly, a long boney arm wrapped around her waist, pulling her backwards.

"Oh shit!" Ink barely got to finish her words before a hand covered her mouth.

A hand that smelt of death.


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer: I don't own Phantom**

**Chapter 12: Concerning P.I.G.**

Now if one was reading closely, one might recall Raoul (also know as The Fop) stating some rather important information. Yes, Raoul (Fop) said some thing important for once. Do you remember? No, I truly doubt do you (cause honestly, we don't listen to him that often). So this is why we will restate the very important information for you. Because, after all, it's going to be important later in our story.

"My gods" Raoul whispered in horror "I always wondered why other fictional world had M.S.K's and we didn't. Thats why I haven't seen as many Mary Sues that aren't hiding in corners and whispering to each other. You've been killing all of the ones that have been acting foolishly."

Remember it now? Good.

Yes, the Sues were up to something. And it involved every single Mary Sue that was in the Opera House at the moment. You see, they soon found out what was happening to their 'sisters' they started to plot. Of course being the thick numbskulls they are, it took them quite a while to get organized so they hadn't even really started on their plot. But one Mary Sue helped speed things along. She got a horde of Sues together and started a council for the Mary Sues of the Opera House. They called it P.I.G. which stood for Pretty Intelligent Girls. Members of P.I.G. told other Sues about that they were all going to have a meeting in a hidden area of the 5th cellar that was made only for Sues. Hence, the hiding and whispering in the corners. Now, who is this great leader that started P.I.G. and created a meeting for destroy our beloved M.S.K.?

"Everyone listen up!" The short leader of P.I.G. shouted into the massive crowd of Mary Sues. Her curly red hair bounced lightly up and down

It was of course, Alice, the only Mary Sue that had gotten away from Ink without turning into a pile of pink glitter.

"We all now know that our building has been infiltrated with a M.S.K. We recently found out with the help of our spies that her name is Ink Blot and she is at the moment living with our Erik." Alice contiuned after the uproar of shrieks at the mention of someone living with their Erik. After all, they were all very protective and believed that he belonged to only them "We now that she is now a major threat to not only us, but we fear that our darling Erik may soon fall over her spell."

"Well? What are we going to do about that?" shouted RoseAnn Sunshine-Moonbean, the princess of Candyland.

Alice grinned, showing all of her perfect white teeth. She beckoned her helper, Emma Twinkletoes, to bring the map forward. They both laid it on a old table. Sues gathered around to get a peak.

"We," Alice said, pointing to a country. "are going to send her to Persia!"

This caused peals of squeals to erupt all over the place. The squeaks grew so high that one of the Sue's glasses shattered.

"Wonderful!" Lady Glimmer cried, politely 'golf clapping'.

"She will never see it coming!" Holly Gloss the angel proclaimed as she flew through the rafters of their meeting place

"Fantastic!" shouted the look-a-like twins, Molly and Polly.

"And our Erik will finally be ours without any M.S.K. in our way!" Alice bellowed triumphantly, proud of her idea.

"But wait." a girl named Ella Shadow said quietly from the back of the room in the shadows. All of the Sues stopped talking at once. "How are we going to get her there?"

Alice bit her lip. It seemed that there were still a few flaws in the plan...

Somewhere else in the 5th cellar...

"Put me down Erik, or I swear to whatever god you believe in that I am going to chop you into little pieces!" Ink screamed at him, kicking and punching him wherever she could.

Ink was in a terrible mood. She didn't like that a very pissed off Erik was taking her to god knows where. She would rather be still with that foppish Count and an angry mob then a really pissed off Erik. Erik, after dragging her through the Rue Scribe gate, had thrown her over his boney shoulder and was carrying her down some dark passageway. The only thing Ink could see was Erik's amber eyes, flashing at her with a murderous rage. Erik coldly scoffed at her shouts.

"You would need a weapon to harm me, Ink and you know that I don't believe in any God." He harshly snarled at her.

Ink grew silent at his words and stopped kicking. She had forgotten that she was weaponless and in the world's most stupid and frilly nightgown of all time. Damm, he was right, as much as she hated to admit it.

"Why so silent now?" Erik mocked her in a almost manic voice. Ink turned her head around and looked at him, straight in the eye. He was wearing the creepy black full face mask again that made him look like a psychopath. But then again, he kinda was a psychopath. Wasn't he? A really crazy psychopath with a really black mask. Ink's eyes widened. The mask...

"Perfect" She whispered to herself, not realizing that Erik could hear her with his fine tuned ears.

"What are you talking-" Erik never finished his sentence. A scraggy, chipped finger nail poked his mask, making a strange plunking sound. She tapped the mask once, twice, three times. Ink then silently prayed to God that Erik would then drop her to Tge ground.

"What in the name of Faust! How many times must I tell you? DON'T TOUCH MY DAMM MASK! " He roared so loudly that Ink's hair fluttered back. It took him a while before he calmed down and talked to her again "Never mind that, we are going home now and are going to have a little chat"

Ink quietly gulped.


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer: I don't own Phantom**

**Chapter 13- Attack of the Phangirls  
**

When the Persian finally reached the 5th cellar and paddled over the lake with his inflatable floatable gondola that he had just recently bought at a flea market for times were the boat was on the other side, he could hear the shouts from inside the house.  
"You know Erik, I have had crazy and horrifying things happen to me before but I have never been GROPED by a crazy masked man as he dragged me down 12 fights of stairs!"  
"I didn't try to touch you, dammit! It was an accident and beside, it's not my fault that your stupid nightgown is slippery!" He coldly replied  
"Well I didn't ask for a nightgown that makes me look like a messed up Victoria Secret model from the 1800's! Your ditsy Swedish soprano made me wear it!"  
"DON'T YOU DARE PULL CHRISTINE INTO THIS!"  
"Too late. I already did." The Persian could hear the smirk on Ink's face as she said those 5 words. He closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. He was standing in front of the front door. He didn't want to go in, not at all. But he knew if he didn't intervene soon, he would probably be going to visit either Ink's or Erik's grave very soon because one killed the other. The Persian finally opened his eyes and stared at the welcome mat. He didn't remember Erik having one before. The Persian raised an eyebrow as he read what the mat said:  
_'Warning: crazy people live here and they WILL kill you'_  
The Persian would bet on his favorite (and lucky) maroon fez that Ink herself had placed it there sometime without Erik noticing.  
"THAT'S IT!" Erik roared. The Persian's widened as he heard a loud smash. His eyes widen and he kicked the door open without a second thought.  
"Ink!" The Persian yelled, his mouth dropping. Ink was standing on top of the table that was now missing one leg that laid next to it but, still had a white tablecloth on top of it and was wearing a frilly white nightgown that looked a little filthy on the hem.  
"Daroga?" Ink tilted her head in surprise.  
"Ink..." Erik growled, pulling out his Punjab Lasso. He looked terrifying.

After Ink left, Erik had been a wreck. The Persian checked on him everyday when he brought the days mail (which was why he passed Ink in his carriage on the to the Opera House). Erik hadn't slept nor eaten since Ink had left and devoted the 5 days to composing more of Don Juan Triumphant, even though he had claimed to have finished it years before. It seemed that his fragile mental state seemed to have shattered during the process of those 5 days. Erik now looked like he used to before the ALW musicals and 2004 movie. He was now skeletal thin and his eyes were sunken in so deep you could barely seen the flecks of gold in the daylight. Clothed all in black and gripping his Punjab Lasso with a manic look in those eye sockets, he truly looked the same way as Gaston Leroux described him all those years ago once again.

"Erik!" Daroga snapped, glaring at him as sternly as he could. He was getting to old for this... He then gently helped Ink down, trying not to blush. After all, he wasn't used to ladies standing around in their undergarments.  
"Dargoa..." Erik groaned and glared at the older man. He was so close so wrapping his lasso of catgut around the dammed M.S.K.'s scrawny neck!  
"Erik..." Ink warned, not wanted the man who probably just saved her from certain death to die right before her.  
"Ink!"  
"Daroga!"  
"Ink..."  
"Erik...!"  
"Daroga?" Asked the Persian, confused and muddled up with what everyone was shouting. So he decided to shout something that would stop both of them from bickering:  
"MARY SUE!"  
"Where?" both Ink and Erik replied, looking franticly around. Ink grabbed a partially broken vase from off and held it, ready to smash it in anyones face.  
"Just kidding..." the Persian weakly said as Erik and Ink glared at him murderously.  
"Not funny Daroga. If you didn't gain access to my supplier of my Russian tea, you would be a very dead man right now." Erik snarled  
"Speaking of tea, I am really thirsty right now." Ink got strange looks from both of the men "What? You would be thirsty if you had just outran a mob of police men."  
"What mob is she talking about?" Erik asked, confused, as he watched she walked outside to get some water for the tea.  
"You mean, she didn't tell you?"  
"She probably yelled it to me as I carried her down the stairs but I was too busy trying not to get my mask taken off by her by accident."  
"While you were accidentally groping her?" Nadir said, raising a eyebrow. Even though Erik's entire face was hidden by his mask, the Persian knew he was blushing.  
"You... heard all of that?"  
"Yes, I heard it all." the Persian gave a small smirk and the continued "Well, all I saw from my carriage was Ink in her nightgown being chased by a giant mob of police men and Count Philippe. I would ask her for the details."  
Erik blinked. Philippe. Didn't he kill him a long time ago before they both came back to life and were immortalized? Yes, he remembered now. His 'siren' had drowned him in his lake.  
Erik scowled. Why the hell was that foppish Count always pursuing or touching his Mary Sue killer? He would have probably kept Ink locked up in the gilded cage of his mansion forever, had she not ran away. But then, Erik didn't even truly know why she returned.

A loud feminine scream and a small crash that sounded like a metal teapot falling on the ground disrupted Erik's thoughts.

"What in the name of FanFiction!" The Persian yelled as he hid underneath the beat-up table, only his head still visible. The door bursted open, showing a wide eyed and terrified Ink that was breathing heavily.  
"Dear god! What's happened?" The Persian asked, worried as Ink slammed the door.  
"Ph-Ph-Ph" She stuttered, running over to the Persian and hiding underneath the table with him.  
"What is it? A pharmacist? Pheasant? Pharaoh? What? What!" Erik demanded, still looking at the door. The door rattled and shook with a numerous loud poundings coming from the outside of it.  
"It's... Phangirls," She horsely whispered, peeping from under the tablecloth with the Persian.  
"Lots and lots of Phangirls"  
Erik nimbly flung himself underneath the tablecloth just before the door fell down.  
They all hid under the tablecloth, listening to all the stomps of feet and girlish squees.  
"OMOG! It's such a dump in here!"  
"Where is Erik?" Someone called out  
"I hope the Persian is here..." Another voice said.  
"I knew I should set more traps. I thought I could them for at least 2 months. It seems that I was wrong." Erik quietly murmured into Ink's ear, making her almost jump and bump her head.  
"Don't scare me like that!" She hissed, then paused for a moment as they all listened to someone yell that they found one of Erik's masks. Multiple shrieks of joy followed it. More footsteps were heard very close to the table.  
"How long will we be stuck down here?" Ink asked the Persian who was curled up in a ball, looking terrified.  
"It could take days. I once had a group of Phangirls that camped out in my torture chamber for a whole week. That was before I learned to lead Phangirls astray. I almost liked them at one time, when I craved love from people." Erik grumpily said, annoyed that the Phangirls were messing with his masks.  
Ink groaned softly. She didn't want to stay under a table with a grumpy phantom and a Persian that looked like he was about to wet himself.  
"I hate Phangirls, especially the really crazy and psycho ones." the Persian whimpered, "I once got attacked by one. I have been scared for life ever since."  
"Shh!" Both Erik and Ink shushed him, worried that they would be discovered if they kept on speaking.  
They all silently sat under the table for what seemed like hours, bidding their time while they waited for the Phangirls to leave. Ink jiggled her dirty foot softly, trying to keep her foot from falling asleep. Erik stared at table cloth impatiently waiting for the Phangirls to leave. The Persian had eventually fallen asleep after a while with his head perched between his knees. The whole time, the house was full of noisy chatter and horrible piano playing. Erik winced, upset about his instruments being touched by their grubby hands.  
"Are you alright?" Ink asked, finally breaking the silence. Erik blinked, surprised that she started up conversation again after falling silence.  
"Fine"  
"Fine" Ink mimicked in an almost perfect impression of his voice, raising an eyebrow at him.

"I could ask how on earth you are able to do that, but I think that would be pointless."

"Good answer Erik," Ink coldly said and turned her face away from him, looking at the sleeping Persian that was now drooling on himself.

They refused to speak to each other a small object flew underneath the tablecloth and softly hit Ink's knee, making her jolt in surprise.

"What in the name of Faust is it?" Erik asked staring at it with a fixated look. Ink shrugged and picked it up. Squinting her eyes in the bad lighting, she saw what is was.

"Its an Erik plushie..."

"Dear god... They are making plushies of me now!" He groaned and glared at the plushie with distaste.

"It looks like it was homemade by some Phangirl," Ink studied carefully before saying "I must say that it's quite cute."

"What!" Erik hissed, his eyes wide "Your telling me that you find that Erik plushie _cute_? A freaking plushie of me! Cute!"

"People think puppies and kittens are cute, so why can't I think a plush version of you is adorable?" She snapped holding onto the Erik plushie tightly.

Erik said nothing , since he himself was sorta a cat person and thought kittens were pretty darn cute. Ink smirked triumphantly and continued:

" I mean, look at him. He has a widdle cape and half mask, and even a itty bitty punjab lasso. It's so darn detailed. He even has gold eyes! See?"

"Did you just say 'widdle'?" Erik asked, wondering what Ink was on right now.

"Yes, yes I did."

"Can I just ask why?"

"Cause I knew it would drive you crazy." Ink smirked as she saw Erik glaring at her, knowing that she was right and annoying the crap out of him.

"I hate you," Erik's voice came out of the plushie, causing Ink to squeak and drop it on the floor as if it was a dead rat.

"That wasn't funny, Erik!" Ink hissed as Erik bent over in a silent fit of laughter.

Ink glared at him for a moment and then scooted away from him and towards the now snoring Persian, hoping that he would get the hint. They remained silent, each inside their own thoughts as they listened to the Persian's snoring and the Phangirls. Erik looked out of the corner of his eye to see that Ink was still holding that Erik plushie. He didn't understand why she liked it so much. The plushie seemed to be mocking him as he looked at it in her arms. You would think someone would be more intersted in the real Erik than a plushie. He huffed quietly.

Stupid plushie.


	14. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer: I don't own Phantom**

**Chapter 14- Foreshadowing and what that means  
**

Ink swore she could hear her bones creek in refusal as she stood up, from the crouched position she was in after sitting under the table for so long. It had been around 4 minutes since all the Phangirls had left. The thing was, she could only vaguely remember the reason they left. It had something to do with Raoul and him entering the opera house to watch the morning rehearsal but, she honestly didn't care. After all, she had more important things to think about then a frivolous pansy that people sometimes questioned the sexuality of on Fanfiction.

"Ugh, they freaking destroyed the place..." She grumbled, knowing that she was probably the one who would have to clean it up. Ink's eyes swept around the room as she murmured to herself. The place looked like a tornado of girls had come, had a party, and then left. She peered down underneath the table, resting a hand lightly on the now dirty tablecloth that looked like it was stained with chocolatey fingerprints. The Persian was still snoring his head off, which for some reason, surprised Ink. She was surprised that he slept through the Phangirl party. Or maybe he was so scared that he went in to comma after the shock. And of course there was always the possibility that he was really dead. Though to believe that a snoring person was dead, you would have to be a idiot. Or Christine, she though to herself, snickering.  
Ink quickly snatched her Erik plushie and left the two men to their sleeping. Walking down the hallway, she saw that the Phangirls somehow unhinged the door to Erik's bedroom. Oddly, her room seemed untouched beside the very battered doorknob that she had once hit with a candle stick. Ink opened the door, relieved to see that the giant swan bed was in perfect condition still.

"Swan bed, sweet, swan bed!" She loudly sighed as she collapsed onto it for a moment. Closing her eyes, she softly smiled to herself. She loved this bed not only was it soft but it helped her sore back too. She slowly opened her eyes and sat up on the bed, itching the nape of her neck. Ink then stood up, remembering that she was still in the filthy nightgown. She really ought to clean herself up. Ink softly padded across the floor and knelt down by her suitcase to pick out some fresh cloths from her suitcase. It was not until Ink stood up that she saw Erik standing in the door way.

"Holy crap!" She hissed, glaring at him while she cuddled with her Erik plushie. "Why the hell are you here?"

"Erik believes this is his home so he should come and go as he pleases." Erik's tone was a mix between a sarcastic thoughtfulness and amusement. An while Ink couldn't see his face because of the black mask, she knew that he was smirking at her.

"Well, I don't care if you come in here, just stop with the damm third person talking! It is super annoying!"

"Erik doesn't care what you or your stupid Erik plushie think."

"Eriky isn't stupid" Ink protested, holding Eriky close to her.

"You gave that _thing_ a name? Really?" Erik asked disgusted at her weirdness. What was so great about this little stuffed figure of him, he really wanted to know. It wasn't like that little stuffed doll can sing. If it could though, that would be pretty cool.

"Yes, his name is really Eriky Ramin Crawford. I just shorten it to Eriky a lot. After all, Eriky Ramin Crawford is hard to saw over and over."

"My god," Erik sighed in annoyance, hitting himself on the forehead with his hand. "Did you know what you just said what around the most Phangirlyish thing I have heard today?"

"Well, did you know that you just made up a verb? I have never heard Phangirlyish used as a verb. I have heard Phangirly or Phangirlish but I honestly have never heard Phangirlyish." They both glared at each other and Ink continued to talk "Now, I think you should tell me why your here or just leave me the hell alone."

"Erik noticed you finally woke up and left Erik and Dargoa under the table. He wanted to see what you were doing." Erik replied rather sulkily. Ink sighed, rolling her eyes. Of course he was awake the whole time. The man never seemed to sleep.

"Aren't you..." Ink trailed off when she noticed Erik looking at her strangely. "Tired?"

"Sure," Erik uncomfortably shrugged "Erik can't though."

"Can't?"

"Sometimes Erik's dreams aren't that pretty," Erik muttered darkly "and Erik also doesn't fall asleep easily."

"Look," Ink quietly said "I knew that you wouldn't be dreaming about rainbows and unicorns or other crap like that, but if you simply need help _falling_ asleep... I can help you."

Erik simply stared at her, making her sorta squirm and clench onto Eriky tightly. That stupid full face black mask made it even worse, making her have a strong desire to throw it off a cliff or burn it. Erik on the other hand was surprised. She offered to help him. Erik couldn't believe it. Ink actually was pretty much saying that she wanted to help him. But why?

"How could you?" He asked so softly that Ink almost didn't hear him.

"I have a bottle of this sleeping medicine in my suitcase. It will knock you out pretty quick and you have to drink all of it. Of course, there are side effects." She said as she reached down in front of her suit case and pulled some thing out of a pocket. Ink then straightened up and showed him what she was holding. It was a small transparent bottle that had a grey tint to it. The bottle was half full and had "Sleep Fast" written on it in small, fancy writing.

"What are the side effects? He asked, curious at what she said. What is it gave him purple spots on his feet or make him start to act like a chicken?

"It can give you headaches, a cough for a few hours, or dreams that are foreshadowing what lies ahead."

"It doesn't sound that bad..." Erik then nimbly took the bottle from her and unscrewed the lid.

"I would take it when you get into bed though because-" She never finished what she was saying though before Erik downed the whole bottle. Almost instantly, Erik crumpled to the floor, already fast asleep and quietly yet almost musically snoring.

"I told you so," Ink muttered to herself. She then started to drag him on to the swan bed. After all, it wouldn't be nice of her to drag him down the hall and into his coffin. Though it would be pretty funny to see him freak out when he woke up in his coffin... Ink ignored these thoughts and tucked him in under the velvety red sheets.

* * *

Erik was floating. At least he thought he was floating. He could hear noises but everything seemed muffled. Then and world sudden turned into a burst of color.

Erik found himself in Ink's bed room again. Though she wasn't wearing a nightgown anymore. She simply wore what she called a tank top and shorts. Erik tried to say something but his mouth wasn't working for some reason. Ink then laughed and was giving him a small smirk.

"Really Erik? You already have forgotten what you just dreamed about? Goodness, my Great Aunt Nella still remembers her dreams and she is 106!" She then laughed a little more. But the scene turned blurry.

They were in box five now. Him, Dargoa, and Ink were watching Faust. He himself felt sad. Dargoa seemed to be tired, Ink looked like she didn't care but her eyes showed the fact that she was utterly enchanted with it. The scene unraveled as Ink started to softly give a small smile.

Erik then found himself in a front of a small white home with flower beds and trees in front of it. Ink was standing in the doorway, waving at him.

"Come on, Erik! Hurry up!" This time though she was really smiling, a big smile in fact. Erik started to move towards the house now but the scene blurred once again.

He now found himself in a small room that was painted a faint light green and had many windows. In the center of the room was a grand piano. A women with spiky bright green hair was playing a soft melody on it. Ink herself was sitting on top of the piano and reading a book, tapping her foot in time to the music. The scene faded and the room changed once more.

Erik looked but Ink was not in sight in this scene. He was in an dark theater that was packed with people. He saw himself wearing a half mask on stage, caressing a young women with brown curly hair. It was the Phantom of the Opera stage musical.

_"Touch me... Trust me... Savor each sensation..."_ The man softly sang before they faded out of view too.

Erik shivered in the cold breeze. It was a cold night with only a full moon letting him see where he was. he seemed to be near a lake because he could see a dark shadow of two people in a rowboat. For some reason, he felt anger as he saw the two dark figures kiss. The scene melted out of sight.

He was back in the green room with the piano. But the girl with green hair was gone and a man with the hair that was the color of fire was playing instead. He also played with more passion and louder then the girl. Ink was still on the piano, but was staring at him intensely instead of reading. A look of adoration was on her face. When he ended, she happily clapped.

"Oh! It was wonderful, Blaze!" Ink cheered. He softly smiled at her delight and bowed his head. The scene vanished.

There was fire. Ashes and smoke were billowing through the tall buildings. He was in some city they looked like it was being destroyed. He could hear screams and bullets soaring through the air. Erik heard someone gasping for breath. He looked down. Ink. She was in his arms, bleeding and scratched up. A dark hole was in her stomach, her breath was raspy. Ink had somehow been shot. Erik stared down in horror. She was dying.

"Erik...!" She gasped. His vision clouded with tears. "Erik... I-"

Another blast was heard. a building exploded in the distance.

"You need... tell... I... Erik." Her eyes started to close. He lightly shook her.

"Ink! Ink! INK!" Erik's voice somehow came back to him. "INNNNNNNNNNK!"

The scene vanished. Erik was alone in the white mist.

"Ink, Ink... Ink...!" He wailed still.

"Erik?" A voice came out of the mist.

"Ink... Oh Ink..." He still sobbed, gasping for some more air.

"Erik, WAKE UP!"

* * *

Ink kept on shaking the sleeping man that was screaming and crying her name outloud. He had only been asleep for a hour or so when she heard him start to scream.

"Come on! WAKE UP! ERIK!" She yelled as loud as she could. Finally Erik's golden eyes opened wide.

"Ink?" He rasped, his voice horse from the yelps. He looked to see Ink standing next to the swan bed in a pair of shorts and a tank top. She probably placed him in bed after he fell asleep.

"Jesus Christ, Erik!" Ink said angrily "You almost gave me a heart attack with you screaming bloody murder!"

"What happened?" Erik asked, rubbing his head. His brain felt fuzzy. What had happened?

"You tell me. I start to make scrambled eggs and I heard you screaming my name. So really you should tell me what happened."

"I don't remember," He slowly said "I was dreaming something but I don't remember what..."

Ink quietly laughed and gave him a small smirk.

"Really Erik? You already have forgotten what you just dreamed about? Goodness, my Great Aunt Nella still remembers her dreams and she is 106!" She laughed even louder and then turned around "I have to go check on the eggs, I hope they don't catch on fire like I did last week."

And with that, she left the room.


	15. Chapter 15

**Disclaimer: I don't own Phantom**

**Chapter 15- Ink goes a little too far**

Erik shut his eyes again for a few minutes. He didn't want to ever talk with that stupid Mary Sue killer ever again. After all, in less then five minutes she teased him, laughed at him, and woke him up from some nightmare that he couldn't remember. Ah well, it could be worse...

"So Erik really made little dolls of him, Raoul, and Christine to reenact the 'Down Once More' scene from the ALW musical?" A familiar voice asked loudly, snickering from down the hall.

"Yep, he would sometimes reenact his favorite fluffy E/C Fanfics too. Until, of course, I told him that I would tell his mother about it if he didn't stop. Needless to say, it quickly ended." The Persian laughed as he said this. Soon they both were laughing extremely loud. Erik opened his eyes.

Oh dammit.

He bolted from the bed and ran down the hallway so fast that he probably looked like black blur or maybe like Batman. Erik didn't want Ink hear anymore embarrassing stories about his personal life. Ever.

"Dargoa!" Erik found them sitting next to the broken table on the floor. They both had plates of scrambled egg and burnt toast. Ink was also drinking something out of a tea cup with one hand and holding Eriky with the other

"Oh... hello Erik," The Persian looked rather nervous, realizing that Erik has just heard what he said.

"Erik would prefer, Daroga, that you kept his private life, private."

This made the Persian quite red in the face and Ink snicker even louder.

"Aw, come on Erik, don't spoil the fun." Ink mock-pouted as she took a sip of the liquid in the teacup, which looked like green tea. "I finally got him to stop being terrified of me and talk so don't make him hush up now."

"I wasn't that terrifi-"

"When you woke up seeing me, you screamed, ran away, and then hid in a large cupboard in the kitchen." Ink plainly said, cutting him off. Erik merely raised an eyebrow. He wasn't really surprised at the Persian's reaction. After all, the Persian would be quite shy or either scared around Phangirls, especially the hyper ones.

"Ok, perhaps you frightened me at first," The Persian admitted, causing both Ink and Erik to roll their eyes. This unnerved the Persian quite a bit. "But, once I learned that you weren't going to kill or hug me right on the stop, I soon found you are a wonderful person to have a conversation with."

"Well, it was rather nice to have a conversation with someone else besides Mr. Creeper" Ink jerked her head towards a now glaring Erik.

"Erik is not a creeper," He growled. Tension began as the two stared deeply into the others eyes with rage. The Persian awkwardly was sitting between them and feeling nervous. Ink and Erik continued to have their staring contest. They both hadn't forgotten the giant fight they had had before the Persian had interrupted them. And Erik was still pissed that she left with his dear Christine to Philippe and his younger brother.

"You are right. You are not creepy at all. You sir, are the exact opposite." Ink brashly said.

"Ink, I don't you should have said-"

"What are you saying?" Erik interrupted.

"You are nothing like you where before. You used to terrorize the opera house! You smashed chandeliers! You kidnaped and extorted money! Now, all you do is mope, play music, and runaway from your Phangirls and Mary Sues!" Ink yelled, now standing up and leaving her munchies on the floor next to the Persian, who looked like he was about to wet his pants, once again. Eriky was still in her hand and sorta swung around. Erik looked down at her and said nothing. "When is the last time you killed, stalked or terrified the crap out of someone? You have become weak ever since Christine left you!"

"Actually, that's wrong." The Persian quietly said.

"Explain," Ink demanded, swiveling around to face him.

"After the night where Christine left him, he used to plan to murder Raoul in these horrifying ways in his spare time. But he always said they weren't diabolical enough yet, so he would destroy the old one and start on an even more gruesome one. But that was until the ALW musicals showed up. After that, he had more Phans and Mary Sues after him."

"So you are basically saying that he has gone soft and is a wimp since a musical happened. Wow! I cannot believe you, Erik! I had always expected more of you since the beginning." Ink exclaimed with a sneer. Erik couldn't stand it anymore. He lunged at her and pushed her back so far that he pinned her to the back of the table. A pair of blue eyes looked up into the yellow ones. Erik leaned down until his masked face was right next to Ink's ear.

"You have pushed Erik's patience far enough. Erik tried to be a gentlemen for you. After all, Erik let you live here. Erik thinks you should be very greatful" He hissed menacingly. Ink kept very still as Erik loomed over her. She wasn't very frightened of him most of the time, but now when he was behaving like the batshit insane madman he was in the book... it got her more then a little worried.

"Erik, chill out! It's not like I'm saying that you probably have a pathetic deformity like in the 2004 movie... Oh shit, I probably shouldn't have said that..." She then started to wheeze. Erik was unknowingly pushing rather hard on her torso as he pinned her down, making it hard for her to breathe.

"You have gone too far this time, Ink Blot!" Erik yelled, his eyes flaring up. He grabbed her by her and yanked on it, making her give a small squeak of surprise.

"Stop pulling on my hair!" Ink yelped as Erik started to drag her across the room by her hair. It didn't hurt her that much, due to the fact that she was used to getting her hair pulled by kids she used to babysit in middle school, but it did feel very unpleasant to her. Ink pushed, kicked, and even tried to bite him, but Erik ignored her and started to drag her to a wall.

"Erik, this is an unwise idea!" The Persian called from behind them, still on the floor.  
"Oh just shut up, Daroga" Erik snapped as he pressed a small crack in the wall. With a groaning creek, the whole wall panel moved, revealing a large. Ink looked in with awe. It was dark and dusty inside, but it was clear to Ink where they were. It was the true Louis-Philippe room.

"You didn't think Erik would let anyone into his Christine's real room, do you? Erik had built that one to fool his stupid Phangirls... And it seems it has fooled you too." Erik cackled, now moving into the dark room, followed by the furious Ink, who was still getting pulled by her hair.

Erik continued to talk and mumble things but Ink was now looking around.  
There was a bed, a little sofa, and dressers. She could also see the mantle where the ebony caskets that held the scorpion and grasshopper lied. In the corner, was a old chair that had frayed ropes underneath it.  
Then Ink saw the little window.

"Ah, Erik sees you have noticed his little torture chamber, Ink." Erik evilly cooed into her ear. Ink shivered, his cold breath tickled and was unnerving to her.

"Yes, I see it" Ink gritted her teeth and deliver another sharp kick to Erik's leg, but he didn't even waver.

"Perhaps you would like a personal tour, hmm? How does that sound, dear?" Ink froze, hearing the grin in his voice as he said this.

"That doesn't sound very fun to me," She answered honestly as he opened the doorway leading to the torture chamber.

"But Erik thinks you should have a tour anyways. That is just too bad that you don't want to, isn't it, my dear?" Erik pulled Ink up straight and forced her to stare into the room. she could already see the outline of the iron tree.  
"Due to the fact that your still valuable to Erik, my dear, I won't use the heat... this time." Erik then roughly shoved her in, making Ink fall ungrateful into a heap and for Eriky to fall out of her hand, only to land right beside her. Erik silently dropped a candle and match just inside the opening. Then before Ink could even move, he slammed the door shut, plunging her into darkness.

"I am not your dear so stop calling me that, you insufferable jerk! Why the hell did you start calling me that anyways?" Ink shouted as she slowly made her way across the floor towards the match and candle.  
"And why did you give me a way to make some light?" She now whispered to herself as she grabbed the match.

The floor seemed to be made out of stone, so she struck the match. It instantly sparked and gave a small flame. Ink lit the candle and blew out the match, not wanted her hair to catch on fire. She stood up and walked to the center of the room, making it illuminated much better. She could now see she was in the middle of a little six-cornered room, the sides of which were covered with panels of mirrors from top to bottom. Ink recognized the iron tree in the corner, at the bottom of one of the mirrored panels. The iron tree, with its iron branch, for a hanged men.

"How very stupid I am to get myself in here because of my loud mouth," Ink sighed as she sat down, retrieving Eriky as she did. The only sounds she could was a faint sound of... auguring? Ink thought it must be Erik and the Persian, for, who else could it be? The sounds soon died down and she was alone in the gloomy, mirrored, horrific torture chamber all by herself with only Eriky for company.

"Well, this sucks..."


	16. Chapter 16

**Disclaimer: I don't own Phantom**

**Chapter 16: A small world  
**

"Erik, you really ought to let her out..."

"No."

"Erik, she has been in there for over at least twenty minutes. I think Ink deserves to be let out of the torture chamber now."

"No."

"Please?" the Persian asked. They where currently standing in the dusty Louis-Philippe room, arguing (at least the Persian was trying to argue with a rather reluctant Erik) on if Ink should be let out of the torture chamber yet or not. Erik was sitting on Christine's old bed and twirling his Punjab lasso through his fingers, mainly ignoring all that the Persian said. It wasn't the first time he ignored the Persian like this.

"No." Erik replied once again.

"What would your mother say?"

"Daroga, you great booby! Don't you dare drag Erik's mother into his personal life again!" Erik yelled at him.

"Now you are calling me booby again? I thought you stopped that after you got over your Susan Kay's Phantom phase. Are we going to have to go over this phase again? Please tell me _that_ won't happen again!"

"Daroga! Erik assures you that Erik is quite through with that little so called 'phase' of his. Erik merely admired that a interpretation of his story was so accurate to Gaston Leroux's novel." Erik fidgeted as he started to tie knots in the rope of catgut.

"Erik, for a whole month you collected stray cats and named them all Ayesha." He stated flatly. The Persian wasn't very fond of remembering of that month. For some reason all of the cats liked him a little too much and every time he came over, they would all crowd around him and follow him everywhere. That was the main reason the Persian wasn't a cat person. That, and they shed far to much to his liking.

"I think Ayesha is a good name..." Erik protested under his breath, also remembering what the Persian had to go through and how he got so mad at the Persian's behavior that he once threw one of his many Ayeshas at the Persian's head.

"Look," The Persian gave up, sighing. He was sick of arguing and getting nowhere like always. "We don't have to let her out, just look in the window and see that she is alright. Ok?"

"Fine! Erik will check on her..." He snapped, getting of the bed. Erik personally wished he could just let the blue haired girl rot in there for all eternity, but, since she kills the Mary Sue for him, he couldn't do that... yet. Erik trudged over to the viewing window of the chamber. He looked in, expecting to see her, lying on the floor or playing with that stupid little Erik plushie of hers.

She was gone.

"God dammit!" Erik swore, moving away, enraged that his Sue killer had slipped away once again..

The Persian sighed and stared at the seething phantom, having a good idea "Let me guess... she found the nail?"

"She found the nail!" Erik yelled, throwing his hands into the air. "How the hell did she find it? I thought I took that thing out years ago!"

"Well, apparently you didn't" The Persian replied, trying to hide the small smile that was starting to appear on his face. It's seemed that Erik was so upset at this news that it made him stop talking in third person finally. Erik flopped backwards onto the bed and stared at the celling.

"She drives me crazy, Daroga." Erik complained "And she can't cook. _At all._ She always burns everything."

At this the Persian chuckled at the childish tones in the Phantom's voice. "And here I thought you never ate." He said in a teasing tone.

"Shut up or just leave me alone, Daroga." Erik grumbled, glaring at him.

"Fine, I'll leave you to your solitude. Though first I must ask, what are you going to about Ink?"

"Find her of course, you dum-dum. It's sorta OOC of me due to the fact that I honestly don't care about her that much, but then again, I really ought too. The poor girl will no doubt be terrified of what she shall find down there..." was Erik's very odd reply.

The Persian shook his head and left. It was when he reached the other side of the lake that he asked himself out loud

"OOC? Is that even a real word?" the Persian then pulled out his handy dandy pocket sized dictionary of the FanFiction's modern language and looked it up. "OOC, an acronym of the words Out Of Character. When a Character does something they usually do not do."

Well, it sorta helped the Persian but seemed rather pointless for looking it up. After all, he could have just asked Erik to tell him, but then he would have felt really stupid...  
So the Persian left the fifth cellar, wondering why Erik was thinking about going OOC and what Ink was doing at the moment.

Ink, at the moment, was in Hell.

Well, really she felt like she was going through Hell.

It was a really Hellish place...

You see, after Ink pressed the small nail in the floor, a part of the floor moved out of the way revealing a staircase. She slowly made her way down the staircase, using her feet to feel her way downwards. It was a surprise to her to see a little light switch at the bottom of the stairs. Ink had never seen a modern day light switch in this fictional world. So of course, she flipped it on. The little cellar was soon full of light. Ink jaw dropped.

The whole place was filled was Phantom memorabilia.

Ink was in awe and also, a little bit of shock. There where tons of posters lining three of the walls from every single version. One wall was covered with all the phantom masks. Erik somehow even got a T.V. in here which was playing the Lon Chaney version (what big a surprise). There where multiple bookshelves covered with movies, books, CD's and more Phantom merchandise then a Phangirl could dream of. Heck, he even had the rare Phantom and Christine barbies, sitting on a shelf and holding hands.

Ink walked over to a desk behind the throne that held the famous Monkey music box and started looking at some scrolls of paper. To her amazement, they were blue prints to Love Never Dies very own 'Phantasma' and different life like sketches of Christine herself.

Ink looked up from the papers and saw headless mannequins. Lots of very creepy headless mannequins. Why on earth did Erik have a thing for mannequins?  
They all where wearing all of Christine's different dresses from every single adaptation. Ink moved towards them, oddly fascinated by them. She brushed a finger across the skirt of the Christine wedding dress from the ALW musical, faintly smiling. There was the lovely white dress from the picnic scene that Terri Polo wore in the 1990 version. And she passed Susanna Foster's blue dress that was in the Claude Rains version.

Ink gasped.

It was behind the giant pink masquerade dress from the 2004 movie. What Ink saw was none other then her all time favorite Phantom dress.

It was from the version with Robert Englund. It was Christine's masquerade dress. The dress was almost totally white with a band of black silk at the waist. The puffy sleeves, pearls weaves around the neck line, and flowing skirt made it perfect.  
In other words, it was totally epic and it was one of the few dresses Ink wouldn't mind to wear even though she hated to wear dress anytime.

And she would not mind to wear it right now...

The trouble with is, Ink had no doubt in her mind that if Erik ever found out she even touched one of the dresses, she would be punjabbed before you could say 'Muffins!'. But... it was a lovely dress. And she really want to try it on. Ink sighed. Decisions... decisions...

"Ah, why not!" She declared out loud to herself. She then quickly took of her tank top and shorts, now only in her undergarments. Ink then shimmied the dress off the mannequin and slipped it over her head. It was tad bit to long for her, making some of the skirt puddle at her feet. She found some ballet flats under the now bare mannequin and slipped them out. Ink didn't know what she looked like right now, due to the fact there were no mirrors in this room, but she believed she looked quite nice. At lest she hoped she did.

"Weeeeee!" Ink shouted, now impulsively twirling all around the room so the skirt of the dress fanned out around her body. She did this until she was so dizzy that she ungracefully into a heap of her lanky limbs and white fabric. Her vision still spun as she stumbled back onto her feet. Somehow, Ink landed at a doorway on the far side of the room. The door had the word 'EXIT' in bold red letters on front of it. Of course, Ink chose to exit the Phan room, as she called it, and go out into the world of fictional Paris.

This was her mistake and that led to her downfall.

She pushed the door open to see a little river. Tied to the shore was a little wooden boat. Ink stepped in, delighted that she now had a mode of transportation. The little craft made a swift launch into the current after she untied it. It soon went at a smooth slow trek across the river.

"Welcome! Please keep your hands, feet, bodies, items, and Punjab lassos inside the boat at all times! Thank you! Have a wonderful day!" A sweet voice merrily said out of nowhere, making Ink a few inches out of her seat. The boat started to violently rock when she do so but Ink steadied herself and the boat went back to it's peaceful mode. Ink was wondered what the voice meant. Her thoughts were stopped as she realized that there was a giant door that she was about to crash into. Ink was about to yell or jump out of the boat or do something in the like of that when she heard music coming through the door. It was not music like Erik's dark and moody kind. It was... cheerful and happy-ish. The doors automatically opened, letting the boat move into the room.

Ink's jaw dropped.

The room was full of color and light and... smiling puppets that were dancing... and singing?

_'It's a world of laughter. A world of tears. It's a world of hopes and a world of fears. There's so much that we share, that it's time we're aware, it's a small world after all!"_

It all kinda made sense now. The boat, the music, and why a voice asked her to stay in the boat at all time. She was stuck on a ride, a Disney ride. Wait, that didn't sound right. A Dinsey ride? Under Erik's house? What? How on earth could that be possible?_  
_

_"It's a small world after all! It's a small world after all! It's a small world after all! It's a small, small, world!"_

It just didn't make any sense! Why on earth was a Disney ride underneath Erik's house? And not only a Disney ride, but the most annoying, messed up, catchy as hell Disney ride that there ever was and will ever be! But why was it here? Erik didn't seem like the person to like anything related to Disney, or a person who would like a ride like this. How did Erik even_ know _about Disney and 'It's a small world'?

"IT DOESN'T MAKE ANY SENSE!" She yelled, shaking the boat._  
_

_'It's a world of laughter. A world of tears. It's a world of hopes and a world of fears. There's so much that we share, that it's time we're aware, it's a small world after all!"_ The mechanical dancing puppets sang happily. Ink was holding onto the wooden sides of the little boat with an iron grip, one of her eyes was rapidly twitching.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Ink finally gave a mad scream of her growing insanity, sick of these cheerful and happy puppets from all different countries.

Yep, she was in some sort of Hell that had cheerful demonic-like puppets of doom...


	17. Chapter 17

**Disclaimer: I don't own Phantom or the song 'New France'  
**

Chapter 17- France, that is... new?**  
**

Due to the fact that she had already went past almost all the countries of the world, Ink truly hoped this ride would just finish already. She had already gone past Sweden, France, Spain, and whole lot of puppets that just generalized all of Africa and the Middle East. Eventually, she had just forgotten to look at the puppets and huddled in the bottom of the boat, rocking back and forth while she prayed it ended. Ink couldn't get that stupid song out of her head. It was like in was burned into your brain after the first two times you hear it. Not only could you stop hearing it inside your mind, but it also would never leave.

_"It's a small world after all...! It's a small world after all...! It's a small world after all...! It's a small, small world..."_ She muttered under her breath in unison with the cheery demonic puppets. Ink looked up. The boat was right in front of another door. And as the doors automatically opened, a almost manic smile came on her face.

The boat had entered that last room. It was the grand finale where all the puppets from all over the world wore white and danced together. While that was a rather strange picture to think about due to the fact that not everyone in the world was very happy with the other countries. it didn't matter though. The only thing that mattered was...

"This means it's almost over..." Ink swore tears of joy almost came to her eyes as she realized this outloud.

_"It's a world of laughter, a world of tears. It's a world of hopes, and a world of fears. There's so much that we share, that it's time we're aware, it's a small world after all" _All the puppets sang together, oblivious to the fact the a blue haired girl now was jumping for joy and making the boat violently wobble.

The doors at the end of the sickeningly cheerful and white room opened, letting the boat glide through. And, then something amazing thing happened. Something Ink thought would possible never arrive:

Silence. Sweet and blissful silence.

"Please get out of your boat in an orderly fashion and enjoy the rest of your day!" The disembodied voice chirped. Ink wobbly scrambled out of the boat and onto the shore before the voice even finished it's sentence. She then tumbled over and onto the cold ground, her feet numb. Ink sighed, of course her feet just had to fall asleep when she was in the boat.

After standing up and dusting herself off, Ink decided to go on her not so merry way and try to find a way out of the cellars. After looking at a giant, blinking neon sign that stated 'R.S.G. (Rue Scribe Gate) is this way' that was over an archway, Ink believed that maybe she should go that way. After all, it was a sign. A legit one too. And if it was legit it should be real. Cause it couldn't be, like, a trap. That would be waaaaay to obvious...

So, Ink walked through the archway, only to feel something hit her upside of her skull. It sorta felt like a... frying pan had just hit... her?

The ever so lovely Emma Twinkletoes and quiet elegant Raven Wolfshadow looked upon in a vague look of confused shock at the crumpled heap that was the Mary Sue Killer, Raven still holding the said pink frying pan that knocked her out.

"Did I kill her?"

"I don't think we did..."

"Does this, like, mean that 'operation: frying pan of pinkness' worked?"

"...Uh... yeah! I believe it does!"

"Oh goody! This means we can go back to the P.I.G. headquarters!"

With that, the two Mary Sues flounced off, dragging the unconscious killer behind them.

_**Somewhere?**_

Ink was around 99% sure that she was dead. No, make that 101% that she had died. Why else would a women with pink hair and a black beret be standing over her...? Suddenly the strange women (who had a name tag on that simply called her 'Mel') helped her to her feet and started to sing.

_"Hello miss, I welcome you! You are in New France. We drink and laugh each day in this country of romance!"_

"Er... what?" Ink stared at her, having know idea why this women had a tiny mustache and was blathering about something called 'New France'. Wasn't she dead? Stuff like this shouldn't happen to dead people. Unless this was hell...

_"Here have some cheese be soups and wine! Or a nice soufflee."_ As soon as the women said this, food magically appear and floated around Ink's head. Yep, Ink thought to herself, she was in hell...

"What the hell!" Ink yelled as a baguette fell on her head, but the women with the bad French accent ignored her.

_"Come follow me there's much to see while you are in New Fran-say!"_ With that, the French person named Mel and her started to skip down the street that was full of French people. Ink tried to stop her feet, but she couldn't, she had to keep skipping.

_"Why on earth don't these chicks ever shave?"_ Ink's eyebrows rose. Somehow, she was almost sing-talking in the odd rhythm. _"Oh why, oh why must such a place like this be my grave? I must now find a way to leave this land-"_

_"Not a chance!"_ The people on the street with them shouted at her. They too all had mustaches and berets. _"You are stuck here for eternity! Stuck here in La France!"_

_"We surrendered to Italians and twice to Germany but eventually they left-"_ A man with a top hat and handle bar mustache explained as he rode past on a unicycle.

_"Because your country smells like pee."_ Ink stated, flatly. This wasn't amusing anymore. Not in the slightest...

_"So maybe we can't win a war-"_ Mel stated, almost proudly at that. Everything seemed to be flying out at Ink. This time Ink looked around to see a group of cancan dancers coming her way, but Ink quickly ducked before she got kicked.

_"But hey, we make great wine! Here try a glass, its good, I swear! The taste is quite divine!"_ Then, multiple people attempted to dump bottles of wine on top of her. Ink squeaked, and barely made it out of there somehow before the white dress turned purple from the wine.

_"We know the latest fashions and our art is quite insane." _Mel chirped and then roughly slammed a pink beret on to Ink's head. Ink glared at her now. It was war now.

_"We love to hang in coffee shapes and talk about our pain."_ A guy wearing a pair of lime green sunglasses said as he sipped a cup of Starbucks coffee.

"OWWWW!" Ink had just yanked on Mel's hair, distracting her and then the Sue Killer started to fight her way through all the people. Suddenly they started to twirl her around from person to person, even though Ink was fighting tooth and claw to get out there by kicking and smacking people.

"_The world may think uz znotty but zhats also very wrong,"_ Ink squeaked as she heard a man sing this with a throaty voice as her picked her up by the scruff of her shirt and looked her straight in the eye as her feet dangled. then, she was dropped back onto the strret, looking up at the man who was towering over her. He oddly looked like Gerard Butler, but with a mustache, which was rather disturbing to her. _"If you admit we're zuperior, I'm zure we'd get along!_

"STOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOP!" Ink yelled at the top of her lungs. So, everyone did what she said.

"Look, I am not staying here forever. Heck, I don't think I can last another minute here! I would rather be back with Erik then with all you crazy people."

"But no one can leave New France!" Mel shouted.

"Just watch me..." Ink stood up as she said this. She swerved her head around looking for an exit. Much to her surprise, there was a floating door in the middle of the crowd. She shoved past a few french people to read what was on the door. In block-style letters, it said: 'Exit from Crazy French Hell Dream here'.

Ink muttered a "How convenient..." as she opened the door. It was pitch black inside. Ink simply shrugged and walked through it.

She then found herself falling through thin air...

_**P.I.G. headquarters...**_

Emma Twinkletoes was very proud of herself. Her and Raven had dragged the killer to headquarters as quickly as they could without getting a hang nail. Not only were all the Sues proud of them, but Alice had said she would reward them handsomely with lipgloss and as much nail polish as their Prada purses could carry.

"So what are we going to do with her?" Emma asked Alice, who was intensely staring at the knocked out M.S.K. while tapping a foot. Alice didn't say anything. She didn't know what to do. She never really thought they would catch her...

"I thought we where going to send her to Persia!" Some random Sue shouted.

"Could we mail her to Persia?"

"No, you Dum-Dum! That would kill her!"

"Oh... sorry."

"Is she dead?"

"I'm hungry! Where are the cookies?"

Suddenly, the room filled with the noise of Mary Sues shouting at each other. Some where arguing, some where just talking to themselves, and at least one was crying because their hair was messed up from all of them crowding.

"SHE'S WAKING UP!" Alice yelling, pointing at Ink. All the Mary Sues froze.

"Huh?" Ink moaned, her head hurting. "I am still in New France...?"

Ink's eyes widened as she looked at all the Mary Sues that were looking at her. Instantly she crouched, ready to attack them.

"OW!" She yelled as a frying pan firmly hit her on the back of her head again. She then slumped forward, once again, unconscious.

"Good hit, Alice."

"Thank you Emma," Alice beamed, "I had wanted to do that for a while now..."

**_Somewhere...? (once again)_**

Mel was standing over her again, smirking.

_"Hello miss, I welcome you! You are in New France. We drink and laugh each day in this country of romance!"_

Ink groaned. She was in New France..._ again_


	18. Chapter 18

**Disclaimer: I don't own Phantom  
**

**Chapter 18: as if she were a ghost**

Erik was furiously pacing in what he called his 'phantom lair'. Ink was nowhere to be found. He looked everywhere he thought she would be, though he didn't really know where she went everyday. Erik thought she couldn't have gone far, but all he had found was Eriky Ramin Crawford, limply laying at the end of the ride.

To find Eriky dropped on the ground in front of the exit sign of the ride, worried him. Ink hadn't let go of Eriky since she 'found' him. Maybe she was danger, he though to himself. This stopped him in his tracks. Why should he be so concerned with the whereabouts of some girl? A stubborn, annoying girl that somehow caused more trouble then the troublesome Mary Sue she killed every day.

Why does he care? Why does he care about her and where she is?

Erik sharply turned around at this thought, darkly scowling at the bare mannequin and the little bundle of Ink's clothes underneath it. It seems Ink not only had vanished into thin air, but she also had taken one of Christine's dresses from the Robert Englund movie. He hated whenever someone took something of Christine's without ever asking, and with Ink taking off in one of her dresses... Well, let's just say that Erik was really pissed off. So pissed that if he wasn't worried about where she was, he would strangle her.

"Where are you?" He growled loudly in rage, roughly pushing the bare mannequin to the ground. It made a hollow thump as it hit the floor. Erik's shoulders slumped.

"And why do I even care?" He hoarsely asked himself, looking down at the mannequin he had taken out his anger on.

He still needed to find her though.

If he found her, he wouldn't be confused. Or feel this way... A feeling that he really didn't understand. Erik couldn't stop thinking about her as he walked into the darkness of the cellars, holding Eriky tightly in one hand.

He had to find her. Then everything would go back to normal. The way it used to be.

_**P.I.G. Headquarters... once again**_

"I think she's waking up!" One of the two Sue that were guarding her said

Ink froze, keeping very still. She was indeed awake once again, but if her plan was to work, she had to attack at the right moment. She had planed everything ever so carefully, barely opening her eyes in the process, otherwise they would have realized she was no doubt plotting their deaths.

"Nah, she isn't awake. And besides, if she is, we have her tied up. She couldn't possibly get out of the ropes we tied her in." the other Sue explained, annoyed at the other one. Ink mentally rolled her eyes at that. True, she was tied up. But apparently none of them knew how to even tie a simple knot. Ink had already untied herself carefully without them noticing.

"That's true. Plus, we have these weapon-y thingies to protect us!" The Sue flung around a steak knife. Ink softly scoffed. A steak knife? Really? She could take these two bimbos down with a pencil. But she didn't have a pencil at the moment.

But, she would soon have a steak knife... right...

Ink pushed herself off the floor and kicked her leg out in one solid smooth motion. Her foot connected with the Mary Sues kneecap. Ink grinned as the Sue failed to the floor, throwing the knife in the air, letting Ink catch it with ease.

_...now_

"Game over." Ink hissed and slashed the Mary Sue on the floor from her shoulder to her waist in one flick of her wrist. By then the other had ran off a hallway yelling loudly while waving her hands in the air.

"Help! Help! Someone help me! She has escaped!" The Mary Sue screamed

Ink rolled her eyes. Didn't anyone ever realized that when trying to run away from a insane killer you are going to trip? It literally happens in every horror movie.

"AHHH!" The Sue tripped over a pebble and fell flat on her face. Ink softly chuckled and walked over to the whimpering mess. With one smooth swish of her knife, Ink beheaded the Sue, who then quickly disintegrated afterwards. Ink stepped away from the glittery remains feeling rather satisfied. It sorta felt good to back to her old ways. After all, she had been rather neglecting her job, something she shouldn't have been doing.

As she casually wiped some pink glitter off of her still amazingly pristine white dress, Ink heard the squeaks of terrified Sues and the clacking of heels running away. It seems that the other Mary Sues in the area had run off after being alerted of her presence. The cowards...

She sighed. Ink was alone once again and at last free to finally leave the cellars.

Ink now walked down the hallway, disturbing the pink glittery dust and making it slowly float in the air.

Coughing lightly now, she left the now abandoned headquarters of P.I.G, leaving the glitter to settle by itself as if she had never been there.

Just as if she was a ghost...


	19. Chapter 19

**Disclaimer: I don't own Phantom  
**

**Chapter 19- The Diner with a jukebox**

Ink had never been so happy to see sunlight. Sure the sky was a bleak grey and there was a somewhat nippy wind, but the sunlight was still warm on her face. Oh, how she loved the outdoors. There were few things Ink loved. Her crazy Scottie and her many baked goods, her ever loving family, _him_, and of course nature to some name of them.

Rue Scribe was filled with Carriages and people that no one even noticed the girl in the still very clean dress open and shut the gate. Ink looked around, hoping that none of those pesky police were still searching for her. If anything, she wanted to lay as low as she possibly could.

"Out of the way, Mademoiselle!" A gruff voice bellowed.

Ink silently stepped out of the way as a man strode past, carrying a large wooden crate that had 'Property of FFNet' stamped onto it. There was so much to see, she thought, dizzy with excitement at her small freedom from the cellars as she walked casually down the street with other people. A growl came from below, making Ink press a hand to her stomach.

First, she needed to eat though...

The diner was clearly built for Authoresses and filled with them, she thought as she looked on from a window. Ink had only walked a block or so when she had found it; The Phanatic Diner. It was larger and much newer looking then the rest of the buildings that surrounded it. The electric lights twinkled from the neon sign on top of the building, sporting a picture of a rose.

A brass bell chimed as she opened the door. It was louder in here then she expected. Then again, they were Authoresses. They where quite an odd bunch with their funky graphic tees, jeans, weird hats, and other strange items they had acquired over time. Quite a few had shirts on that said 'Team Erik' or 'Team Phantom'. Ink noticed that these girls often turned around and gave the evil eye to a few girls in the corner that had 'Team Raoul' shirts on. A bland pop song roared on a lit up jukebox.

"Nice dress!" An authoress with black robes and the head of a roaring lion was on her hat called to her, "Robert Englund version, right? It looks really accurate. Did you make it?"

"Um... yeah." Ink mumbled, moving past the table.

"Welcome to The Phanatic Diner," A impatient voice dully said. Ink turned around to see a bored young teen behind the main counter, loudly chewing gum and fiddling with the hem of a black tee that stated 'ballerinas are badass'. "My name is Jammes. And yes, I'm that Jammes from the Leroux book. What do you want to order?"

"Vanilla latte and one those croissants." Ink simply stated.

"Finally we get a customer that can quickly decide on what they want... stupid, wacky Authoresses that always sing too much."

"Well, I'm not one of those writer types for sure." Ink replied, giving a rather small smile to Jammes. She had to admit she didn't mind this Jammes character. The girl had spunk and kinda reminded her of her best friend.

"Thank god for that. Anyways, go take a seat in a booth."

"But I ought to pay-" Ink tried to protest.

"Relax! I know that your our local M.S.K. and you deserve a little something. I get around the Opera House and heard quite a bit 'bout you." Jammes then slyly winked and ushered her away. Ink's mouth twitched a little as she walked away from the counter. Yes, she did believe she like this quirky girl named Jammes.

The booth she picked had a great view of the street outside and Ink enjoyed that. She kept herself occupied by watching the fictional people and the people of FanFiction walk together, almost oblivious to each other. It was interesting, she thought, how the Avatars of living people sometimes completely ignored the fictional characters that weren't the main characters. Minor characters were often more interesting, just underdeveloped, Ink thought as she drummed her fingers on the table.

_"In the midnight moonlight I'll be walking a long and lonely mile. And every time I do, I keep seeing this picture of you."_

Ink froze as she heard the lyrics drift out of the jukebox. She knew this song. Oh, she knew it far too well. He would alway hum it every once in a while without even knowing it cause he loved it so much. Ink closed her eyes and hummed along.

_"Here's comes my baby, here she comes now, And it comes as no surprise to me, with another guy. Here's comes my baby, here she comes now, Walking with a love, with a love that's all so fine, Never could be mine, no matter how I try."_

She missed him. God, she missed him so much. She missed how he would hold her and run his fingers through her hair. She missed his witty banter and voice. She...

She just wanted to see him again.

"You alright?" Someone asked, snapping a piece of gum.

Ink opened her eyes and saw Jammes standing next to her with her order on a platter.

"Oh! I'm fine. I was just thinking about someone..."

_"You never walk alone, and you're forever talking on the phone. I've tried to call you names, but every time it comes out the same."_

"A guy?" Jammes mischievously grinned as she set a mug and a plate with the croissant on the table.

"Well... yes." Ink admitted, a bit of color coming to her face as she took a sip of her latte.

"Do you two... you know, have a thing going on?"

"Yeah," Ink smiled to herself, thinking about him, "we have a thing..."

_"Here's comes my baby, here she comes now, And it comes as no surprise to me, with another guy. Here's comes my baby, here she comes now, Walking with a love, with a love that's all so fine, Never could be mine, no matter how I try."_

"And you miss him?" Jammes guessed.

"Of course." Ink took another sip, "Who wouldn't miss their boyfriend?"


	20. Chapter 20

**Disclaimer: I don't own Phantom  
**

**Chapter 20: At the opera tonight**

The Persian walked briskly down the street, his trench coat fluttering in the wind. It was getting darker now and he feared that he would be late to the opening performance of Faust.

"Note to self," he grumbled, causally glancing at the elegant shops on Rue Scribe, "take a carriage next time."

The sidewalks that were usually crammed with people in the day were now dying down, the gas lights were softly dimmed and the neon lights of some FanFiction sponsored dinner brightly twinkled.

"Yeah, I know. Just be careful. Don't worry though, I'm sure I'll get my weekend off soon also." the muffled voice of a girl could be heard as the door of the Dinner opened. The Persian's jaw dropped as he saw to his surprise that was Ink talking on one of those small, razor thin tech gadgets (he thought it might be called a cellphone or something) and descended down the stair in a lovely dress. Ink saw him starring at her and nodded her head, holding up a finger as if to say 'one moment'.

"I gotta go now, alright?" she paused for a moment, "I love you too. I promise I'll call you again soon. Bye... Oh! And send Scottie my love, cause I miss that girl." Ink looked rather sad as she pressed a button on the cell and slipped it into her shoe.

"I see you found your way out of the cellars."

"Yeah, I was sidetracked for a while but I finally got out. I've been sitting in the Dinner for the past few hours." Ink was then rather quiet, looking down at her feet.

"So, who was that?"

"Someone..."

"Oh, I understand." he could sense Ink's uncomfortableness with his inquiry. The Persian then took her by the hand, surprising both of them.

"Let's go back to the Opera house."

"And have Erik flip out and try to kill me? No way!" Ink slipped her hand out of his and started to storm off. She had enough of Erik in the past two day and just wanted a break from everything. All she wanted was... to go home, Ink admitted to herself. She simply missed her family and friends. Sure, she had gotten a few letters but nothing else.

"Tonight's the opening night of Faust," Persian called out to her has she was leaving, "I was hoping you would come watch it with me in Box five."

"Erik will probably be there."

"Relax, he is probably still looking for you somewhere in the cellars. Besides, it gets boring if you are the only person in the box."

"It would be nice to actually see a opera here..." Ink bit her lip, feeling hesitant. It did sound better the roaming the streets in the cold. And what go really go wrong? The Persian beamed at Ink, knowing he had easily persuaded her.

"Excellent! We better hurry though, otherwise we will be late!" he grabbed her by the wrist and they ran as fast as they could across the pavement.

"I guess this means we are friends now, right?" Ink yelled as she picked up the hem of her dress with her other hand.

"Sure!" He faintly smiled at her over his shoulder.

And that is how Ink and the Persian came to be sitting in Box five, eagerly awaiting the beginning of the performance. Ink leaned slightly over the edge of the box, looking in awe at all the different fictional minor characters she could see.

"Oh, great. I bet since Christine is singing tonight, Raoul and Philippe are here." Ink wrinkled her nose in distaste as she folded her hands in her lap.

"It appears someone is not very fond of the two brothers..."

"You think? The foppish fools originally thought I was some OC that was kidnapped and abused by Erik." Ink replied. They then both started laughing loudly. Even though it wasn't super funny, it was just hilarious to them. The Persian was soon drying the tears of laughter from his eyes.

"They are the kind of people that just make too many assumptions."

"Indeed," Ink nodded, "I certainly am not some damsel in distress that needs saving from an evil bad guy."

"Would I be an evil henchman since I'm the best friend of the 'bad guy'?" the Persian joked

Ink laughed, "I guess I'm an evil henchwoman then!"

Suddenly, gloved hands gripped both of Ink's shoulders in a iron-like grip, making her freeze.

"Well, isn't nice to see you two again? Ink, I wonder where you got that ever so lovely dress. Hmm?" Ink slightly shivered as she felt his breath in her ear. She looked over and saw that the Persian was still and looked tired.

"Hello, Erik." Ink forced the words out as she could, trying to ignore his fingers that were now tracing small patterns into her bare skin. "I am so glad you could make it..."


	21. Chapter 21

**Disclaimer: I don't own Phantom  
**

**Chapter 21: Your eyes can be so cruel  
**

If awkward silence was a harmful kind of radiation, no doubt everyone in Box Five would be dead. Ink could hear him breathing down her neck. One of Erik's skinny fingers had moved towards her neck and rested now at her collarbone. She shivered at the sensation, not used to his touch so gentle yet still somewhat enjoying it.

Erik looked down in surprise at Ink's reaction to him moving his finger. He had felt her tremble as he had done so, but didn't think she would react so much. While Erik couldn't see her face, he could tell that she had relaxed more to his touch then when he had first grabbed her.

"Erik..." Ink breathed, now looking up into his golden eyes.

Erik was speechless. For the first time, Ink had welcomed his touch since she needed help being lifted out of her box. Did she really enjoy his touch as much as he thought? Curious, Erik tested this theory. He started to stroke the rim of her collarbone with his, very subtly but enough that she could feel it. He then placed his right hand on her other shoulder.

Ink couldn't move, even if she wanted to. He now had her trapped between his arms. She bit her lip as he continued to caress her skin. It was hard to focus as he kept stroking her shoulder. Why was he doing this to her? She looked away from him, not wanting to see those piercing eyes.

"Er... How about you just sit down, Erik," The Persian said, poorly attempting to stop the tense yet almost intimate moment between Erik and Ink. He still had a firm grip on Ink's shoulders, who looked like she now just wanted to be left alone.

"Very well," Erik's voice was terse as he sat in the chair next to the blue haired killer. Ink looked down at her lap, mortified that she had let Erik, out of all people, touch her in that way. She has a boyfriend waiting for her at home, for goodness sake! Besides that, she wasn't allowed to have a relationship with a character. It was against the law. And as corrupt as she thought her government was, she had to obey.

"Where have you been?" He asked her, as he moved closer to her without even knowing it.

"A lot of places." she shied away from him as the curtain rose. The opera was starting and the audience was applauding, not knowing of the tension between the two above the theater. She gave a small smile as it began without knowing it. Erik noticed though, and for some reason felt... weird. As if he had seen this before in a dream or something. Erik quickly glanced over at the Persian, who had gave up on his attempts to keep the peace and was watching the first scene with some interest. He looked tired though.

"Really?" his voice was deadly to her ears. How was it that he could be almost caring and then cruel again?

"Indeed. I get around fast." She looked into his eyes. His eyes were cold and like molten gold. Your eyes can be so cruel, she thought, just as I can be so cruel.

"I never told you that you could leave," he growled into her ear, softer now. Ink clenched the armrests, enraged.

"I'm not a person that can be locked down in one place for a long time and I certainly won't submit to you. Go get some other chick for that."

"I never asked you to submit to me, I merely want you to behave."

Ink stood up, sick of his behavior. Erik had been obnoxious at first but then he had locked her in the torture chamber. She had just enough of this!

"Ink, don't do this." the Persian begged, not wanting them to make a scene and get themselves noticed by phangirls.

"Shut up, Persian!" She snarled as she still glared at Erik, "I've been harassed enough by you and everyone else since I've came here. Hell, I was hit on the head with a frying pan today! Can't you people just leave me alone?"

Erik didn't know what to say as she angrily stormed out of the box, slamming the door behind him. The Persian merely rolled his eyes. In his opinion, both of them were acting like grouchy and angsty teenagers. Wait, was angsty a real word? Honestly he didn't care.

"Brilliant," Erik slouched in his seat, "just brilliant."

"Wouldn't the situation your in right now not be brilliant?"

"Shut up, Persian."

"You know, you two are so similar yet you just are oblivious to it." he said in a matter of fact tone to his friend. Erik just sat there and scowled at the stage for a few moment, lost in thought.

"Of course!" Erik leaped out of his chair, startling the Persian, "We are so alike!"

"That is what I just-"

"I know how to stop myself from getting angry," Erik now rambled manically. The Persian raised his eyebrows at this. Please, the Persian thought silently, please tell me he hasn't been taking drugs again.

"Erik, I don't think-"

"So how hard could it be to calm her down?"

"Actually..." the Persian started to say, but stopped himself, knowing he would just be cut off.

"I have to go find her!"

With that, Erik left with a flutter of his black cape swishing behind him.

"Why do I get the feeling that he is just going to get himself into a bigger mess?" the Persian sighed, crossing his arms and went back to watching the opera.

_**Somewhere else...**_

The man woke in the middle of the night to the sound of people yelling. He had fallen asleep against his piano in the dark, but it was dark any more. The window held a orange glow to it.

"Revolution! Revolution!" Someone cried from outside.

"Bring down the government!"

The man ran to the window and opened it, poking his head about.

The world looked like it was on fire. Thousands of people paraded in the streets, holding torches and signs declaring their freedom. Government officials were trying to restrain them.

"We demand our rights!"

Police were marching down the streets, hitting anyone they saw with batons or spraying pepper spray. The whole crowd was swelling and what was once silent, empty street soon became a large cry for freedom.

"My god..." the man whispered to himself. He slammed the window shut, his heart racing. This was it. He and his friends had always talked, dreamed, even planned this to happen. But now their dream was a reality. He fumbled for his cell phone on top of the piano. He had to call her. No doubt she hadn't heard yet.

"Hello, I can't come to the phone right now. I'm probably doing something importantish or whatever so leave me a message. Just wait till after the beep!" her so familiar voice came from his cellphone. The man waited for the beep impatiently. Finally, after it did he spoke urgently.

"Lucy? Lucy, my love, it's begun. The revolution has just begun. Please come home as soon as possible. I love you."

Not even moments after he hung up, the sound of gunshots began.


	22. Chapter 22

**Disclaimer: I don't own Phantom  
**

**Chapter 22: A run in with the Count  
**

The longer she wore the dress, the more she realized how useless it was. For one thing, as soon as she left the box, she tripped on the hem and ran into a police officer.

"Watch where you are going, younge lady! Wait, hold on..." the police officer's eyes widened.

Ink gulped. This was the police man she had punched a while ago when escaping Philippe. She quickly shoved him to the side and ran down the corridor that lead to other boxes.

"Halt! Halt!" he bellowed, chasing after her. Ink sharply turned the corner, sliding right behind a large plant.

"Sir, what is the meaning of this?"

God dammit, she thought to herself as she heard Philippe De Chagny's voice. Clearly the world wanted her to suffer for something.

"That scrawny harlot that punched me a week or so ago is here!"

"Are you sure it's the girl with blue hair?"

Ink was now trapped. Philippe and the officer were standing right in front of the planter she was hiding behind. There was no way she could escape without one of the seeing her.

"Of course. She recognized me and ran this way. I'll catch up to her soon." The man puffed, clearly not in the shape to run after anyone.

"Proceed then, and tell me if you find her." Philippe curtly said. The officer nodded and trotted off. Ink held her breath as Philippe turned around, knowing that since everyone else was watching the opera, he could easily hear her. Ink squirmed, unhappy at the awkward position her body was crammed in.

"I can see your foot, you know." he informed her and he moved the plant away.

"Congratulations, you found me."she scowled as he helped her up onto her feet. Ink crossed her arms as he charmingly smiled at her in that sickening way she disliked.

"You always seem to find yourself in trouble."

"A nasty habit of mine," she shrugged it off, turning around to leave.

"You look beautiful," Philippe blurted out. Ink froze at his words, her back turned to him. The Count sounded so sweet and genuine, but oh so naive. He really didn't understand that she couldn't get involved with him and his life. Ink turned around and faced him.

"Thank you, Philippe."

They both were silent, both surprised at her words. Soon enough, Philippe did find his voice and coughed before asking, "I was wondering, since I stalled that police officer for you, if you'd sit and watch the opera with me."

"No, Philippe." Ink groaned, upset that he kept trying to drag her into something.

"Why not? I'm that bad of company?"

She had to bit her tongue to not honestly answer that question, "No, it's just that I'm busy."

"You're lying." he accused her, crossing his arms. Ink glared at him, but not saying anything. Philippe could feel his heart breaking with little cracks as thin as a spider's silk were appearing in it. He stepped a foot closer to the blue haired girl, but she just shied away.

"I'm sorry, it's just..." she tried to explain but the words wouldn't come out of her mouth. Philippe scoffed and narrowed his eyes.

"It's the Phantom, isn't it?"

"No-" Ink protested, but was caught off.

"He controls you," he stepped towards her, "and you do his every whim. How could a free spirited beauty such as you allow him to do so baffles me.

"It's not like that!"

"Oh but it is..." Philippe was a breath away from Ink now, "you can't deny it, Ink."

She quivered, wanting to flee, but found couldn't move her feet do to her dress was tangled around them. One of her hands was balled behind her back, ready to fight if needed. As annoying as she thought he was, Ink decided to wait before resorting to some violence. His hand clamped onto her wrist though, making her tense.

"Listen," he whispered, " I'm merely concerned for your safety. I don't want this Phantom to hurt you anymore. So here's the deal: you return to the opera with me and then stay under my protection for as long as you need. Or-

"Or...?"

"Or I summon the officer back and force you into behaving and being my protection." he finished, "It's your choice. You can go the hard way or the easy way."

"Do you want to know what I choose?" she whispered into his ear in almost sickening sweet tone.

"Of course."

She then picked up the edge of her dress and swiftly kicked him in a place where the sun don't shine. As soon as her foot connected to him, his eyes bulged. Ink quickly dashed off, hearing his howls of pain in the background.

"OFFICER! OFFICER!" he cried.

Ink was now running as fast as she could through the hallway, hearing someone following her. She hadn't looked back, but assumed it was the police officer. When she turned the corner though, she unfortunately tripped. Damm this useless dress, she casually thought as she started to fall to the floor.

She didn't even touch the floor though. Two arms had wrapped around her waist and stopped her fall. Ink was then quickly pulled back up onto her feet, only to meet two golden eyes behind a full face mask.

"Eri-"

He covered her mouth with a gloved hand and pointed to a nearby column in the hallway. He dragged her over to it and opened it swiftly. Ink was then shoved inside, landing on the floor. Erik stepped into the column too and shut the secret door, leaving them in darkness. Ink groped around the smooth tile floor until she found a solid shape.

"That's my foot you have there." Erik quietly remarked. She looked up and saw two glowing eyes.

"Oh," her cheeks felt hotter.

The small room was now filled with a yellow light. As her eyes adjusted, she realized that they were in a old fashioned elevator. She then stumbled back onto her feet.

"Uh... hello?"

"You're welcome." he scarastically said then abruptly shoved something into her arms.

"What the?"

"I have read that when one is upset, they enjoy their favorite things." Erik awkwardly said. Ink blinked and looked in her arms to see Eriky and her treasured knife.

"You found them for me."

"Yeah..." he stared at her as used the black ribbon on her dress as sheath for the knife and placed Eriky by her feet.

"Thank you, Erik." Ink suddenly found her feet to be quite fascinating.

"Going down to: Cellar 5" A robotic voice said as they slowly moved down in silence.

Ink still hadn't looked up at Erik. If she had, she would have seen Erik extend his hand. He was so closed to touching her faintly scarred but still lovely white skin. He closed his eyes.

No, he shouldn't touch her.

Erik bit his lip, enraged at himself, as he withdrew his hand. He shouldn't touch her. But oh, how he couldn't stop himself from wishing he had...


	23. Chapter 23

**Disclaimer: I don't own Phantom  
**

**Chapter 23: The Persian gets a bit angry  
**

Ink was curled up in a corner of the library after finally changing into her normal clothes. Eriky was nestled between her knees, while she concentrated on the book she was quietly reading.

"Hello?" the Persian walked in the room to see the strange sight. Erik, the once feared Opera Ghost, was sitting on the floor and reading.

"Daroga, what a lovely surprise." his tone was very dry.

"I had to know where you two went when you ditched me after the second scene."

Ink had even looked up, she wasn't even reading. Her whole body was trembling in a nervous energy, her cellphone was tucked in her pocket. It was on silent, but in her mind she could still hear the words echoing out of it.

_Lucy? Lucy, my love, it's begun._

"Ink? Did you hear me?" the Persian asked. He and Erik were staring at her, as if she were some tiny bug under a microscope.

"Uh, no. Sorry." she muttered, tucking a stand of hair behind her ear.

"Are you feeling alright?" Erik had the sound of almost concern. The notion of it made her shakily laugh.

"Well, I-" Ink paused. Could she take this risk? They couldn't know the truth. The real truth anyway. She had to choose her words carefully.

"I got a phone call. Something has come up where I live. An emergency. I need to get home, no idea how long I'll be there, but I have to."

The Persian nodded his head in understanding fashion, but Erik's face darkened. He shook his head, to Ink's dismay.

"No."

"But-"

"I said no, Ink. Your job, your duty, is here. Here with me." his voice was strained but firm. Ink glared at him, her eyes darkening in rage.

"I'm leaving, Erik. It is already final. I wanted to inform you that I was leaving."

"Do you have permission? Authorization? No! You are staying right HERE!"

Once again, they were both we're standing, yelling each others faces. He towered over her, glaring down in that mask she hated so much. She hated this. All the fighting. She didn't want this, then again, she wasn't sure what she exactly wanted.

"Please," Ink's voice sounded so weak compared to his, "I have to."

_The revolution has just begun._

"What if you both go?" the Persian offered, feeling that they had both forgotten him. Instantly, they both swiveled around and stared at him.

"No, he can't."

"Why not?" the Persian raised an eyebrow at her frantic expression. Remain calm, her told herself, as she tried to slow her breathing.

"You would not want to see it."

Erik narrowed his eyes. Was that really it? No, she must be lying. She seemed so nervous about even talking about her home. Ink had never told much about herself. Erik suddenly felt ridiculous. He never asked this girl much besides her name. For goodness sake he didn't know how old she is.

"If that is the only problem you have, I'm sure you want mind me accompanying you. If it is dangerous, I can easily defend us."

"I can defend myself, Erik. I have no idea why you are siding with Daroga now."

"I really wish you two called me The Persian..."

"Be quiet," Erik and Ink both snapped. Then they both continued to shout each other. How long it went on, the Persian had no idea. He shifted uncomfortably, starting to get annoyed. They both need to stop arguing, but appeared they had no intention too. Finally, he couldn't take it anymore.

"WILL YOU TWO JUST SHUT UP!" the Persian roared.

The room was silent. Both Ink and Erik stared at their well mannered friend's shouting, shocked. The Persian politely coughed before saying, "Thank you. Now, I hope we all come to an agreement."

At this, he gave them both a meaningful look. Well, Erik thought, this rather out of character for the Persian.

"I think that both of you should go. No buts," he said sharply when they both opened their mouths. "You too will go in the morning. It's just around midnight now so you should wake up at seven, pack, and then go. No arguing or fighting. Just pack and leave. I'm very tired and I am going home. I'll see you in one week. Goodnight."

_Please come home as soon as possible._

With that, he marched out of the library, grumbling about murderous idiots. Ink and Erik stared at the doorway for a long time, still in shock.

"Great, just great." Ink ran a hand through her hair.

"I guess we better pack."

"What? No! I refuse to go with you!"

Erik walked away from her, not even looking back until he was in the doorway. His eyes, those golden eyes, looking at her.

"I'll wake you up for when we have to pack."

He left before she could speak again. Of course he had to have the last word. Slumping, she sat on the floor. I'll have to pack, she thought, I have to go home.

_I love you._

_"I'm coming home Blaze" she told herself quietly, "I promise"  
_

**_Somewhere else..._**

The smell of ash filled the air. Most of the fires had gone out in the night near his apartment complex, but the skyline still burned. The rebels had hidden at the break of daylight, not due to cowardice, but to remain anonymous. He was one of the few outside, hiding in the shadows of the metal fire escape.

The man closed his, tilting his face upwards. The sky was a faint pink, obscured by a smoky grey. He looked down at the street once more. Bodies, too many of them, littered the street and alleyways. Fallen from fighting, no matter what side they fighting where on.

"Citizens of Techon," a grave voice stated from the man's small radio, "give up. You try over come us. You think that fights in the street concern us? No. We are far more powerful than you, insignificant rebels. You were created for a purpose. That purpose is to rid the world of vermin that annoying those above you. Yet you think you deserve more? You will pay for-"

The man turned off the radio. Lies, that's what all these newscasters would be forced to tell now that the revolution had begun. He stuffed the small radio in his pocket as he stood up. Leaning against the metal rail, he glanced once more into the rubble of the riot before he turn around and climbed through his window. Sighing in relief when cool air hit his face, he shut the window behind him.

Suddenly, the phone rang.

He dashed to the phone, picking it off the receiver.

"Hello?"

"Goodness," that well know slight Irish brogue said, "someone is a bit jumpy today. Eh?"

"T," he was impatient with his friend's sarcasm today, "can you just tell me if she's home?"

"Not yet."

"Damm," the man whispered, causing T to laugh.

"She'll be home soon. I can feel it in bones."

"Really?"

"Oh yeah," T confirmed, "it woman's intuition."

"Oh T," he smiled and chuckled at her confidence.

"I personally prefer Scottie. Now go to composing or something. Just keep your mind off of her for just a few minutes, but I doubt thats possible."

"Alright, mom. Call me when she gets there."

"Hey! I'm not your m-"

He smile as he cut T off. He really did have to much fun bugging her. Sighing, he sat down on his piano bench, picking up his silver reading glasses. He looked at his sheet music, taking out a black pen from his shirt pocket.

"Back to work, hmm?" he tapped his fingers on the black polished wood. He looked out the window one last time. All he think about was her though. Her tangled hair, those soft lips, and her creamy skin.

"Oh Lucy, if only you knew what you've done to me."


	24. Chapter 24

**Disclaimer: I don't own Phantom  
**

**Chapter 24: The departure that evolves coats**

"Uhhh... Good morning." Erik blinked as he walked into the kitchen. Ink had already set out breakfast and had her suitcase next to the table.  
"I packed."  
"I noticed," He sat next to her, picking up his fork.

"I packed last night so we could go as soon as possible. I assume you also did, Erik."

They both sat there, neither went to eat or talk. Ink merely shuffled her fork around the plate of burnt scrambled eggs while Erik tapped out a slow waltz. She looks like she is in a better mood, he noticed, perhaps her could finally ask her a few questions he was curious about.

"Ink, how old are you?"

As soon as the question was spoken out loud, Ink's fork clattered against the plate. For a few seconds, her mouth just hung open before she finally composed herself.

"You should never really ask a woman what her age is. Clearly, you don't understand social norms of society. In fact, I would be quite surprised if you did, since you are more anti social than a crazy cat lady."

"Cat lady?" Erik sputtered at her snide remark and smirk. Glowering, he pushed away his plate. It was so strange, she thought, that she could usually read his emotions even though the mask almost all his face besides his mouth. She recalled that he used to wear a mask that looked it was from the 2004 movie, in which half was painted white and the other was paint like a real face. Now all he wore was a stark white mask.

"Not my best comparison," she admitted, "but it got my point across that it was a bit too personal. You asking my age would be like me asking about the mask."

"We don't talk about the mask."

Ink stood up and collected both the plates. She clearly picked the wrong words yet again by talking about his mask. Turning on the rusty tap water, she started to wash them.

"I don't see why you always over react when I talk about it."

"If you had a face of a loathing, hideous monster that was only covered by a mask, you would understand."

"Well aren't you just a bucket of sunshine?" Ink rolled her eyes as she grabbed a dishtowel, "I swear you are the most angsty person I've ever met, and that's saying something."

Erik stood up, overshadowing the Mary Sue Killer as she washed the dishes. He secretly marveled at her being so quick and efficient with her cleaning and the fact she hadn't realized he was behind her yet.

"I still think that you should tell me though," Erik whispered in her ear. Ink jumped in the air, startled by his haunting voice in her ear. As her toes brushed back down on earth, Ink could feel herself fall backwards. She tried to twist around and stop herself, but it was too late.

"Oof!"

"Ow"

Well, Erik thought to himself as he found buried in hair, this wasn't supposed to happen. She had fallen on top of him, her head tucked into the nook of his shoulder. Erik briefly closed his eye, breathing in the sweet scent of her hair. Wait, did he really just think that?

"What the hell!" she angrily shouted, "Don't sneak up on me like that!"

"Uh..."

"Just be thankful that I didn't break another plate..." Ink's words faded. She was lying on top of him, she realized. Their bodies were pressed together rather intimately, causing her to blush. Those pale cheeks had turned redder than Erik ever thought they possibly be. Sure, she had a dusting of pink on her face before during embarrassing moments, but nothing compared to her glowing face now.

"It's very quiet."

"Mmm hmm"

"It's been very quiet the past two the days," he added on, "and I haven't seen one Mary Sue lurking around."

"Oh, there was a few outside last night. I knocked some sense into them though by bashing their brains out against a wall."

"You are a violent one," his chuckle was so soothing and rich. Sometimes Ink forgot how much she liked the Phantom's voice. She merely propped her chin up against his chest.

"And you aren't?"

"Not much anymore," he didn't look her in the eyes before saying, "I'm all washed up, thanks to these phangirls making me out to be all mushy and soft."

"That's not-"

"Don't lie to me, Ink. It displeases me greatly."

"Fine," she sighed as she put up her hands in defeat, "I'll admit you have gone a little soft. Though let me just say that are still a pain in the butt to me, you jerk

"You are so good at building one's self esteem."

"Don't mention it, softy. I'm still not going to tell you how old I am."

"Drat."

Perhaps it was all in his head, but Erik swore she genuinely smiled. His head was spinning. She suddenly seemed to much closer to him than before. Could it be that she had leaned in without him noticing? Impulsively, Erik wrenched his head upwards a tiny bit. Ink's eyes widened in shocked as she came to her senses. It almost looked like they about to... She tensed up, mortified with herself. Ink needed to get out of this situation, and fast.

"I- I better get my suitcase. We need to go now."

Dumbfounded, Erik watched as she jumped off of him and hurriedly stumbled. He swore that he could hear her talking to herself, "Just stop it..."

Erik stood up, eyes never off the retreating figure. Straightening his mask, he briskly marched off to get his suitcase. When he returned with his small black suitcase, he wasn't surprised to see that she was there with her larger one. She was attempting to button a old, grey raggedy coat.

"It's getting rather cold, since it is late November. You should probably get a coat on too."

"You are not going to be warm in that old thing," he frowned, "Are you sure you don't have anything else?"

Ashamed, Ink shook her head. She barely had enough money to live on, not enough to get another new coat. Erik dashed of the room, telling her he'd be right back. He came back with a large black cloak on around and was holding something in his arms.

"Nice cape, Batman." she stopped smirking when he held a black bundle out to her, "Huh? What's this?"

"It's a coat, you idiot." he said as he held it out to her.

"I can see that, but why are you giving it to me?"

Ink took off her grey coat, revealing her white shirt and blue jeans. Silently, he took the grey coat from her and gave her the black one.

"It's just an coat I don't ware much anymore. I thought you would like to borrow it for the day. It will be little big on you and pretty long since you are quite shorter than me."

It was like a very long trench coat that didn't flare out with a lot of shiny black buttons on it. She had to admit she rather liked it.

"Here," his eyes looked softer, "let me help you."

He started at the bottom, fastening each button with ease. Ink remained silent, looking down at him. Before she knew it, the was at eye level and had only three more to button.

"You two better be gone when I get in!" the Persian shouted as he walked in.

"Great..." Erik groaned as he and Ink froze in place just as he was about to button the last button.

"Oh!" he exclaimed as he saw them.

"Hello Daroga," Ink gave a small wave, "we were just about to leave."

"Ah, I apologize then for my rudeness."

"You should," Erik muttered as he buttoned the last one that rested at the base of Ink's coat. He looked at her one last time before nodding and turning around.

"So how exactly are you getting there?" the Persian asked as Erik grabbed both the suitcases. Ink meanwhile took a small black cube off of the kitchen table.

"Like this," she calmly said as she hurled thenblack cube at the wall. As soon as it impacted the wall, it liquified, running down the wall. Before their eyes, the black liquid melding together and created a black doorway.

"Wow," the Persian said, eyebrows raised.

"This transports us to the train station, then we will enter the city by train."

"Alright then, let's go."

As they walked up to the portal, a soft breeze wafting out of it. Erik politely gestured for her to go in first. Ink nodded and turned around and waved goodbye to the Persian before she walked through the black doorway.

"See you in a week," the Persian sounded a little sad as he gruffly said it. Erik sharply nodded and left, the door way closing behind him.

For a second, Erik felt total darkness wrapped around him, but he kept walking forwards. Soon, a small doorway of grey light appeared in the distance with the figure of a girl leaning on it. Erik ran towards her, carting the suitcases behind him. Ink held out a hand to him, which he gladly took. As he was pulled through, he was blinded by grey light.

"Sorry about that," she said as his eyes adjusted to the light, "it kinda feels weird the first time you walk through them."

"I'm fine."

He could barely hear himself over the loud crowd of people moving around the station. Mary Sue Killers were easy to notice with their unusual hair colors and shabby clothing. Cherry reds, neon pinks, and bright lemony colored yellow were some of the most common colors. There were a few blues in the mix too, but none like Ink's navy blue ink hair.

"Stay right here," Ink ordered, "I'll go get our tickets I reserved last night."

Erik leaned against the wall as Ink lost herself in the growing mass of people. He hadn't expected it to be so many people, so much noise, and so very confusing. A slight wave a nausea came over him as he ignored the impulse to hide from the crowd.

"Erik, why are you putting your hands over your ears? Quit acting like a two year old."

"Shudup," he grumbled as he walked over to her. She had pulled her hair back in a bun and wore a dark scarf over her hair, making it hard to tell if her hair was blue or black.

"Now boarding for the nine o'clock train." a women said over the intercom, making Ink sigh in relief. They had made it just in time to catch their train.

They quickly boarded the train with other characters and M.S.K.s, most were wearing coats of muted colors. It indeed was cold, just as Ink had predicted. Much to the annoyance of Erik, there were not enough seats on the crowded train, so Erik and Ink had to stand.

"I can not believe people this it is wise to pack so many people in a train."

"Erik, your ranting is bothersome. Please, just be quiet for once in your life. That means no singing, arguing, or playing music." she tiredly said, holding into the straps handle hanging down from the above compartment where their luggage was stored.

He was still sulking as they left the train station at 9 o'clock sharply, while she looked out a grimy window. That fact she was going home felt surreal to her, even though she would arrive there in 30 minutes on the bullet train. Ink looked out of the corner of her eye. Hold on, her eyes narrowed, there was some commotion in the other train car.

Two men in black burst into their train car, causing the once rowdykp car to go silent. Ink instinctually moved closer to Erik, who was trying to figure out who these two men were.

"We are looking for Tim Shacow. We are here to arrest him due to suspicions that he was a key organizer in planing yesterday's city wide riot."

City wide riot, Erik thought as he wrapped a arm around Ink's waist, what is going on?

The man continued, "If Shacow does not come willingly, since we are a part of a government squad, we can shoot."

At this, the other man pulled out a gun, causing gasps of terror. Ink slowly moved closer to Erik, untill she felt the crook of his arm. Erik silently shielded her with his cloak, making it almost impossible to see that she was right next to him.

"Nobody move..." the man with the gun growled.


	25. Chapter 25

**Disclaimer: I don't own Phantom  
**

**Chapter 25: Death and an Irish lass**

"We are looking for Tim Shacow. We are here to arrest him due to suspicions that he was a key organizer in planing yesterday's city wide riot."

City wide riot, Erik thought as he wrapped a arm around Ink's waist, what is going on?

The man continued, "If Shacow does not come willingly, since we are a part of a government squad, we can shoot."

At this, the other man pulled out a gun, causing gasps of terror. Ink slowly moved closer to Erik, untill she felt the crook of his arm. Erik silently shielded her with his cloak, making it almost impossible to see that she was right next to him.

"Nobody move..." the man with the gun growled.

Ink's heart was pounding so loudly that she was worried that everyone could hear her. The riot must have been successful if the government was tracking down the minor leaders of it already. Looking up, she saw Erik's stony face, showing no emotion.

"Shacow, stand up now, by the order of the police. Otherwise we will fire freely."

Erik's mind was racing, thinking of all the possibilities of the outcome. Him and Ink might be in the path of the bullets easily, since he had no idea where this Tim was seated. Ink being shot down by this police man with a gun... he didn't want even think about it. He would protect her, he thought determinedly, if it came to that.

"Please stay close to me," Erik breathed almost silently. At first, he was afraid that Ink didn't hear him, but to his relief she jerked her head a inch down in agreement.

"Stand up now, or else." the other man threatened.

A middle aged man, perhaps in his late 40's, silently stood up with his hands in the air. He was rather spindly with silver glasses and sleeked crimson was amazed at the man's calm but harden expression.

"I'm Timsony 'Tim' Shacow," he looked emotionless and steadfast, "and I beg you to please take me into of open fire on my fellow people."

The two police men attacked the man roughly, causing a few gasps and one young female character to faint. One hit Timsony in the face, while the other handcuffed the injured man behind his back. This caused a few shouts of outrage from the characters, while the M.S.K.'s became silent and nervous. Erik and Ink stood still, not wanting to attract any attention, being so close to the arrest.

"Timsony Shacow, you will be placed in arrest until your execution date."

Shacow's eyes widened, "Execution? You said I was going to just be arrested! s this what it has come to?"

The man started to panic, trying to escape the men restraining him. They still held on, while the characters started to protest even louder. Abruptly shoving against both the men at the same time, Timsony made a break for it, frantic. Ink winced, fearing the worst for the now terrified rebellion worker. On an impulse, the armed man aimed, flexing his trigger finger.

BANG!

Erik wrapped his arms around Ink tightly, worried that they would be caught in the way. Ink closed her eyes as she was pulled into his protective embrace. A small groan of pain notified Ink that the bullet hadn't missed its mark.

"Clearing out. Subject terminated."

The entire remain silent in respect as the two men carried Shacow's body out of the car. Erik couldn't breathe, most likely because Ink was griping his chest. Wait, what? He looked down at the blue hair girl, who was wearing a slightly guilty expression. I could have saved him, she thought, craning her neck to see the limp body on the floor. If I had only moved and covered his back, he would still be alive. It is in these dangerous times, she sadly thought as she let go of Erik, that one must not talk or aid other rebels in the open. At least not yet, Ink clenched her fists.

"5 minutes until arrival at destination," a woman 's pleasant voice came over the intercom. It was so sweet sounding, creating the violent scene in front of then to be even more jarring. Blood was still smeared on the floor of the train car, the only actually thing left over for the ordeal, reminding them that it had really happened.

"Erik," Ink softly spoke while they boarded off the train, "please listen to me. I beg of you to please forget what you have seen."

"Forget?" he asked sharply as they were walking down a crowded corridor, "How could I forget? Ink, we just saw a man murdered! That is not a thing one sees every day."

Ink looked down at the laminated floor of the train station, not saying anything.

"Oh god, you don't mean..." Erik understood her silence now. It was a thing she saw every day, people dying in unjustifiable ways, due to this government. He suddenly felt overcome with pity. It must be painful to know that innocent people, perhaps even her own, were dying each day.

"It's a few block from here," Ink emotionlessly said as they open the main door of the train station.

"Hmm..."

Right off the bat, Erik didn't like this city filled with tall and run down buildings. The streets were crowded with fast walking people and cars. The stench of smoke and even, strangely enough, death were filling the air. Sitting on the sidewalks were young and old, sitting in rags and begging for money. Erik blinked as he saw the haunted face of a young girl covered in dirt with golden hair and blue eyes, reminding him of the girl he loved.

"Christine..." he sighed in despair. The sweet Swedish soprano that had wrapped him around her finger, still made his heart pound. He loved, wait, loves her deeply. Erik frowned, wondering why he thought of his ever lasting love for her in a past tense. He was supposed to have an undying and passionate love for her, at least that was what the fanfic authors always wrote.

"Erik, we're here."

The apartment complex was clean and foreboding with the large sandstone block that made it up. Ink had somehow conjured up a silver key, unlocking the door silently. There was chipped drywall, a fake potted plat, and a single elevator.

"Well... it looks alright," he weakly lied, causing Ink to scoff and roll her eyes as she walked into the open elevator. They were both silent as they rode up to the highest floor, the 8th.

"Now," she whispered as they stood in front of apartment 10H, "I should warn you bout my roommate."

"Roommate?" he hissed as she opened the door a crack, "You never told-"

Erik never finished his words as a green blur ran past him and pounced of Ink. As the dust cleared away, he could believe the scene right before his eye. A tall girl in a tank top dress with a bright green pixie hair cut was sitting on top on Ink, grinning manically. Ink scowled and struggled as she was pinned down.

"Honey! You should told me you were coming home early! I could have baked you something!"

"Scottie, you freak of nature. Get off of me!"

Erik stood still as the girl with a thick accent, apparently named Scottie, stood up and looked him over. Ink sighed, still on the floor, preparing herself for what was about to happen.

"You have a tattoo of a celtic knot on your shoulder."

"Really?" she crossed her arm in a lazy fashion, "You must be a little slow to notice things then, Mr. Creepy-face."

"So," Erik ignored her jab at him, "you must be Scottish then."

Here it comes, Ink thought to herself.

"YOU MORON!"

Erik suddenly kneeled over as he was punched in the stomach, only to be slammed in the jaw moments later. He toppled onto the floor only to be kicked in the leg multiple times.

"I'M IRISH!" Scottie howled, "WHY THE HELL DOES EVERYONE THINK I'M SCOTTISH?"

"Well," Ink grumbled as she stood up, "this was a lovely welcome home. I've been back for only a minute and T is already kicking someone's ass."

"It's Scottie," she turned around and smiled to her roommate, "you know that I hate to be called T, honey."

"Can I just unpack my bags for once before I get attacked by another person?"

"Sure thing, Honey!"

Scottie opened the door for Ink, who wearily walked in. The Irish girl's emerald eyes looked down at Erik again before she kicked him one more time. She then playfully stuck out her tongue before she flounced off.


	26. Chapter 26

**Disclaimer: I don't own Phantom  
**

**Chapter 26: Moonshadow, moonshadow**

This has been a horrible day, Erik grimly thought, trudging through the front door with a suitcase in each hand. His urge to strangle this weird Irish girl had steadily increased seen he had first meet her. The question was, why hadn't he already? Well, he pondered as he set down the luggage, mainly just to keep in Ink's good graces. No telling what she would do if he killed her roommate.

"You're bleeding," speaking of the devil, Ink was starring up at him. Erik casually shrugged, fumbling with the right words to say. After all, the once feared Opera Ghost had just gotten thrown around by a girl much younger than himself. It was humiliating to say the least.

"So," Scottie clasped her hands together, "I'm thinking we should have a couple drinks to celebrate your return."

"No thanks, I must politely refuse that offer."

"No drinks? Oh come on Ink, just live a little!"

Ink merely made a face as she untied her head scarf and then sat on the black couch. Meanwhile, Erik wandered around the apartment. It was cozy and mainly black and white with light wood flooring. There was large windows, a spiral staircase leading to a second level, and a not bad looking kitchenette. But the thing that stuck him the metal fire escape stairwell outside. It was covered it thin green vine and little white flowers.

"I'm not in the mood. An execution happened again on the train."

Scottie violently swore under her breath as she looked out the window to the buildings across. Turing around, walking into the kitchen, she picked up the mornings paper and showed it to them. The paper showed a thin man with receding hair and cold black eyes, the caption blaring 'Jarvis cracks down on rioters, countless dead'. Quietly, Ink stood up and opened the window, crawling out to the fire escape.

"I'll be back later," she directed her voice back to Erik, "so please behave for once."

Erik opened his mouth to shoot back a remark but she already closed the window and climbed up the staircase. He scowled, hating the fact that he was stuck with the annoying girl that beat him up.

"Well, you're rather quiet now, Mr. Creepy. Did I hurt your feelings?"

"I'm trying to be a proper guest and not attempt to kill you. If only one such as yourself, knew that attacking a guest is the improper thing to do."

Scottie chuckled as if his words were meant to be comedic, not the implied death threat they were. As her laughter died down, she crossed across the room towards him. The close proximity between them made Erik uncomfortably shift.

Scottie's lips turned upwards, "You have really forgotten how to be threatening, haven't you?"

"How dare-" he started to bluster.

"I will dare, thank you very much. I know who you are and what you are capable of, so this wimpy act of yours is more than just annoying to me."

"My politeness is wearing thin," he threatened as she laughed him off.

"Face it Phantom, you aren't scary and let my friend trample all over you. You need to man up, because honestly you have no balls. Now come on."

Erik found himself being dragged up the spiral staircase by the girl with green hair. They dashed past a white door at had many chips and an 'S' carved into it, and then past an unmarked door. Finally at the end of the hall was a door that had a neat little plack that proclaimed it to be the 'Training Room'. She flung the door open wide and beckoned him in.

"Why are we here?"

"Because I'm nice enough to help you, since you are so pathetic right now, so pick a weapon."

Erik looked around seeing the place was mainly bare, besides a large mat on the floor and a wall of weapons in the back. The were shiny pistols, bows ready for their arrows, knives, maces, and throwing stars galore. He picked a rapier, slender and glinting in the light and exchanged it between both his hands.

"She caught you off guard," Erik heard her say before she swung her own rapier at him. The man only had enough time to block the blow before Scottie attacked again.

"What-" he gasped as the girl before him vanished.

"She would come and go as she pleased, while you had no say it." Scottie's voice bounced off the walls. Erik's ears perked up, sensing quiet feet running behind him. Pivoting, he gave a bold strike and countered hers, making her give that wild grin of hers. Deciding to be lighter on his feet, he parried back in and forth with her, forcing her to surrender onto the mat.

"But I tried to be more forceful with my actions around her." he shot back, now understanding what kind of game they were playing. Slashing his sword in a diagonal motion, Scottie weakly blocked it by holding her sword vertically, still smiling.

"Oh, you did try. But," the girl wrapped her foot around her ankle, making him stumble, "she kept tripping you up every time she did something unexpected."

"Damm," he hissed as he landed on his back. Erik looked up, only to see Scottie standing above him her sword lightly pressed on top of his throat.

"My, you are in a predicament, aren't you? She's got you trapped, Erik. You can't deny the fact. The real question is, what are you going to do about it?"

They were both still, waiting for the other. She wore a coy and triumphant look on her face. Erik's eyes darkened, knowing what he must do.

"It's very simple..." he breathed, "I fight back."

He snatched the coiled Punjab lasso from his coat and sprung up, confusing Scottie. Before she even knew it, the noose was wrapped around her creamy colored neck. Erik couldn't help but coldly smile as she fell to the ground, sputtering.

"I tire of this game," he laxed the grip of the noose around her neck, "and you underestimating me. I tried to be nice, but I guess that was a idiotic idea."

His black, slightly hunched figure, left her on the ground. Scottie just lied there for awhile, the thin noose was almost like a necklace. Soon, she couldn't help herself but laugh out loud.

"Oh Ink," she looked up at the ceiling, "you had to get a crazy one, didn't you. Ugh, I need something to drink."

With that, she peeled herself off the floor and walked off, hoping to a good drink and a strong one at that.

_**On the roof...**_

_"I'm being followed by a moonshadow. Moonshadow, moonshadow."_

He was already up there, sitting on the roof, strumming his guitar. She let him be at first, staring at his back and flaming hair.

_"Leaping and hopping on a moonshadow. Moonshadow, moonshadow."_

Finally, she couldn't take it anymore. She flung herself onto his back, resting her head on his shoulder, taking in the well know smokey scent of his old leather jacket.

"I'm home."

"Lucy?" his eyes widened, "Lucy! Your home!"

"I just got here, I haven't even unpacked."

He giddily laughed as he set down his guitar, and then picked her up. She squeaked in delight and surprise as he spun her around in circles. They were both out of breath when her feet were back on the ground.

"I ha no idea you were coming today, I would've cleaned up."

"Oh shush, you are fine, Blaze and you never clean up. I'm just glad I'm home with you," she sighed and hugged him tight. I never want to let him go, she thought, from this point on.

"It's gotten worse."

"I know. It happen on the train to-"

"Oh god!" he held her face as if to search for scars,"You didn't hurt or involved, did you?"

"No, I stayed out of it, for you."

"I know you feel guilty, but we cannot let the authorities know we are working against them."

"I know," she quietly said and looked down at her shoes.

"I just don't want to lose you, love."

He took her chin and raised it up so she could see those hazel eyes of his. Slowly, he met her mouth, while she still was holding onto him. Giving a breathy sigh, she pressed her lips harder to his, emotions coursing through her.

"I love you," she whispered in between kisses.

"I love you too," he wrapped his fingers through her long curly navy blue hair and kissed her again


	27. Chapter 27

**Disclaimer: I don't own. Surprised? Neither am I...**

**Thank you Adriatic Rose, Bfflsonfire, and Cecilia Worthy for reviewing. I love you and would go into detail but it's 2 in the morning and I can't think anymore. Love you all.**

**Chapter 27: You pretty little thing...**

"Blaze, I have to go," she practically pleaded as he continued to kiss her jawline. Squirming off of his lap, she tried to get up, only to have him grab her arm and drag her back down.

He lovingly cooed, "Stay a little longer..."

"At least tell me what time it is."

"Just two minutes past seven in the morning."

"Shit!"

Blaze couldn't even before his girlfriend tumbled off of him and started to climb down the fire escape. Smiling he looked over the edge to see her hurriedly moving and swearing under her breath.

"My, my, do mind your mouth."

"Just shut it," Ink grumbled as she pried open her living room window.

"At least tell me when I'll get to see you again."

She looked at him with darkened eyes, "Tonight, I swear."

"I'll hold you to that promise."

Blaze smirked as she slammed the window behind her, quietly looking at the sky turning blue. He fiddled with the small velvet box in his back left pocket. This would have been an excellent moment to pop the question, but it didn't seem right to him. No, he would wait, Blaze had thought to himself. He'd wait for the right moment, no matter how long it took.

Erik, apparently, couldn't wait. At all.

"Where the hell have you been?"

"Put me down," Ink mumbled as he shook her angrily.

"You've been gone for half an hour! Do you know what has happened in that half an hour? Do you?"

Ink looked to her left to see Scottie sitting on the couch, holding a shot of whiskey and looking amused.

"Put me down!"

Erik merely snarled and dropped her to the floor, looking down at her with a cold glower. She scrambled onto her feet and dusted herself off before running up the stairs. Scottie merely chortled as she downed that shot, knowing why Ink was in such a hurry.

"Wait just a minute! I never said you could-"

The ending of his sentence was cut off as Ink peeled off her coat and shirt, flinging them both onto Erik's head. She could hear the peals of laughter coming from her roommate as she jogged up the stairs in her jeans and her black sport bra. Ink could still hear Erik sputtering as she shut the door in her room.

"Clothes," she mumbled under her breath, "I keep forgetting to get my uniform clothes dry cleaned."

Shrugging off her jeans, the Mary Sue Killer grabbed a pair of black pants. As soon as she buttoned them, she started to fasten the ten opaque buttons on her crisp white shirt.

"Somebody's not on time today," Scottie taunted as the blue haired girl tumbled down the stairs once more. She plucked the coat off of Erik's head, letting her white shirt flutter down to the ground.

"If we run, we will make it?"

"We?" Erik asked incredulously as Ink put on her coat and opened the door. She merely nodded and motioned him out the door and into the elevator.

"Have fun in hell!" Scottie called to them as she picked up the discarded shirt on the floor with her foot.

"You know I will."

With that, Ink slammed the door and moved into the open elevator, where Erik was already waiting for her. As she pressed the button for the main floor, she gave a small sigh of relief. They would make it on time, hopefully. Fidgeting with the collar of the uniform, Ink could feel his eye's burning a hole into her skull.

"You threw your clothes on top of me."

"So?"

"You ran around half dressed."

"Erik, you're totally overreacting," Ink rolled her eyes. "Did you see anything you shouldn't have seen?"

There was silence until she finally heard a soft, "No."

"Then it's not a big deal. Now fix your hair, for goodness sake, it's an utter mess."

When they finally got outside, Erik could still smell ash and smoke, but it wasn't as bad. Ink took long strides, her pace was so brisk that he barely glanced at the dull surroundings around him. Looking up, he saw the black building rise up, towering above all. The duo walked into it's shadow with many other M.S.K's, who all had cold faces.

"Where are we?" Erik whispered to her, but she never replied. Ink's face was emotionless and her jaw was set as she walked through the two open glass doors.

The atrium was huge, cramed with people. Every where he turned something was different. Characters were as far as the eye could see, arguing and pointing at others. Erik blinked as a pale man with dark hair walked past him with scissor blades for fingers and then was jostled by a man with an axe that bearly reached his waist. Ink ignored it all, the dwarf, the man with scissors for hands, and even the dragon flying above them.

"This way," she directed him to an elevator in a more secluded area. There was gold scripting above the elevator that Erik read as they waited.

"The top ten book archive?" He narrowed eyes, "what does that mean?"

"The top ten books is the ten fandoms that people write fanfictions about in the book archives the most. They are the most popular and have lots of Mary Sues usually. This top ten includes books such as Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, and you."

"Me?"

She never answered back as she entered the cylinder lift, Erik tailing behind. As the door started to close, a man parted the crowd outside as if they were the red sea. Silence overtook the whole atrium as he walked past people, heading right towards Erik and Ink.

"Hold the door, please."

Ink shot out her arm as soon as the words passed the man's lips. Now that he was a few feet away from him, Erik could see the man that made the silence. He was not as tall as Erik, but he oozed the feeling of power and confidence all the same. The man wore a crisp black suit similar to Erik's and had black slicked back hair.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome, sir," Ink said emotionlessly and nodded.

"Identify yourself."

"Blot, sir, Mary Sue Killer of the Phantom of the Opera who is commonly know as Erik."

He nodded, "Ah, yes, I have heard quite a bit about you. Up and coming M.S.K. with a very good record from the academy. How has she been?"

"Pardon?" Erik sputtered as the man looked at him with those dark soulless eyes.

"The girl. Does she do her task well? Not bother you? No emotion?"

"She's..." Erik looked over to Ink, who looked terrified and pale in the corner. He thought about her, how she was rude, and wandering around where she pleased. How the Mary Sue's were slowly picked off when the two of them weren't fighting. She didn't do her task well, she always bothered him, and was often emotional. But he looked over at her now, utterly frightened.

"She's fine." he said in a disinterested voice. The man nodded, seemingly please, before turning back to Ink.

"Good, then you are fully capable to be the M.S.K. to two more characters, Miss Blot."

"T-two more?" she tried to keep the shock out of her voice.

"Yes," he sneered, "since the Phantom in the Movie archives and the Phantom from Love Never Dies in the Play archives don't have an M.S.K., I figured you could easily work for them also."

"But sir, the last time I looked, both had an M.S.K. of their own."

"Both of them were deployed and shipped off, due to the fact that they were both rumored to be helping the rebels. A foolish mistake, no?"

"Very foolish, sir." Ink looked at the floor. Her heart gave a small pang, knowing that the two M.S.K.'s could have easily been trained with her, or even her friends. One cool finger went under her neck, making her look up at his greedy, wolfish eyes.

"I do hope," he whispered, "that such a pretty little thing like yourself wouldn't be so idiotic to defy their government and me, your leader."

"Of course not, sir."

Erik couldn't even breathe. There were two more phantoms in this land of fanfiction, but he had never know this. Why hadn't Ink told him? Then there was this man, this horrible man, that was the leader of Ink's world. Erik hated him already, as he watched the unnamed man slide his finger down his Mary Sue Killer's bare skin near her vocal cords.

"You don't have to call me, Sir," his voice was cold, but amused. "Just call me Jarvis, practically everyone does these day."

"Of course," Ink stepped away from him, "Jarvis."

The man's, Jarvis', mouth twitched almost into a frown, but then turned into a brilliant smile as the elevator opened. They had reached their destination. Ink bristled as he softly touched her shoulder before walking out.

"I've already written to both Phantom's that you'll meet them tomorrow. Fill out you paperwork today, and then come back tomorrow to be shipped out to them. I personally suggest that you find a away to get the three characters to accommodate with each other. After all, a pretty little thing like you can't be in three places at once."

Erik stepped to Ink's side as Jarvis walked away from them, as if their little chat had never happened. She stumbled out of the tube, her legs shaking slightly. It was with no doubt in her mind, one I'd the most terrifying things to know that her very powerful leader had singled her out. The cruel man had never looked her way before, but now he'd just tripled her work. Soon enough, her legs were not shaking out of fear, but rage.

"Do you need to sit down for a moment?" Erik gently asked from behind her, touching the small of her back to support her.

She shook her head, mumbling, "Gotta get the paperwork."

Ink straightened up and walked the granite desk a few feet away. Erik stayed were he was, shifting his feet every feet second as she talked to the woman at the desk who had her vermillion hair up in a beehive. His blood was still boiling for the encounter with Jarvis, not really surprised that this was the leader that was being revolted against. A pretty little thing, Erik snorted, remembering Jarvis' words. Ink was certainly not a pretty little thing, she was-

"Let's go," Ink stormed back to him, sounding much more like herself as she held a thick packet of paper.

"What exactly is the paperwork."

"I don't honestly know. It freaking paperwork, it's pointless and turns your brains to mush. Also, to document our first month of living together."

"It's already been a month?"

She smirked and lightly punched his should, "Yeah, you dolt. I can't believe you forgot our anniversary."

Erik gave a forced chuckle, seeing anger in her eyes. He was upset too, at her for lots of stupid reasons, but he could wait for once. Inwardly, he knew that she was going to blow up once they got home, but that would wait also. However, the wait for that would be much quicker, since the were a few blocks away from her little apartment.

Drat, Erik thought as they walked away, cursing the short length of their walk.

High above them, Jarvis Kentan watched the young woman with blue hair huddle near the tall and weedy Phantom, as he sipped his coffee. The two small figures wore black coats, which flapped in the wind. Smirking, Jarvis set down his coffee on his desk.

"Computer," he called out, not bothering to look at the pale bald man with silvery eyes.

"Yes, my master?"

"I need to find information on girl that is a Mary Sue Killer."

"Last name?"

He sat down in his leather desk chair, still watching the duo scurry down the street, "Blot."

"I found a Lucy Inklin Blot in the record files, master."

"Bring her up on the screen," he ordered. Computer nodded and furiously typed on his laptop, instantly making the window turn into a white word document with a picture in the corner. She looked exactly how she did today, he noted, a tired face but a pair of rebellious eyes. There was no doubt in his mind that she was a part of the rebellion, while she acted the part of a mere Mary Sue Killer well, it was those eyes that given away to him.

"Let's see... she has parents, older sister, no pets." He scrolled down, eyebrows raised, "Oh my, she's only just turned 22. Fairly young for this profession. Computer, is there any information on relationships or friends?"

"She's the roommate of Scottie Valmeera, according to these leasing papers I've dug up."

"Scottie Valmeera, the singer? Goodness, this keeps on more fascinating. I've seen her perform in a few musicals, she's quite good." he mused, wondering if this singer was a rebel just like her roommate.

"I also took the liberty of searching her on social media sites and I found that she's been dating Blaze Darrenson."

"Darrenson?" Jarvis couldn't help but laugh out loud, "I guess I haven't been very up to date with my nephew's personal since my sister died. Fancy that."

Computer blinked his owl like eyes before fiddling with his laptop, turning the screen back into a window. Jarvis looked down at his city, now clutching his coffee cup as he saw his solders now marching down the street in orderly formations. His lips turned up into a snarl, angered at the trouble these rebels were causing him.

"Master, should I program someone to follow the girl."

"No, she's not important at the moment. However, I need to visit my nephew sometime soon. Now leave me."

"I will schedule it as soon as possible, Master," Computer assured before leaving him with a slight bow, which Jarvis ignored.

"I won't forget about you though," he tapped his fingers on the glass pane,"you pretty little thing."

His words echoed throughout his large office, but the were never heard by anyone else.

Not his nephew sitting on the roof of his apartment complex.

Not by the Irish songbird with green hair and love for hard liquor.

Not by the Opera Ghost who wondered what it will be like to have two more of him living with, well, himself.

And certainly not heard by the young Mary Sue Killer that had just locked her locked herself in her room, screaming to herself and throwing things.

**Luxa: Hey guys! Sorry it took forever to update but it's a long chappie, so yay! I had a great time in Paris! Yeah, this chapter was fairly serious, but next time we get two more Eriks ;)**


	28. Chapter 28

**Disclaimer: I don't own Phantom of the Opera  
**

**Cecilia Worthy: Yeah, there will be family problems, since Blaze is sorta his nephew. But what does Blaze know? I'm not telling :D**

**Bfflsonfire: I'm back! *peels her eyes away from the wall* And with not many answers to the questions.**

**toriana: I'm thinking for LND Erik, that he'll be a mix of both. That, and he's a flirt.**

**Adriatic Rose: I guess it will be... DOUBLE the fun! hahahaha... I'll shut up now.**

**Chapter 28: Meet Rick**

She could feel the gravel crunching under her knees as she tumbled to the ground, breathing heavily. Soft footsteps came up behind her as she tried to get onto her feet once more. When trying to get a look at him, all she could see was a shadow of a man, tall and black.

"Stop running, you don't need to do this."

"Who are you? Leave me alone!"

The man stepped closer, "Come back with me, you'll be safe. I won't let you go. I won't let you die."

Walking backwards she, looked around for an escape route, but the man's voice, it sounded like it came from everywhere. Looking behind her, she saw she was teetering on the edge of a cliff, one similar to the many cliff on the outskirts of her own city.

"What do you want?"

"I don't want you to die," the man insisted once more, "for it would break my heart and kill me too."

"Please, show yourself then."

"Very well, my dear,"

Her eyes widened as he stepped forwards, out of the shadows. Cloaked in black, looked at her desperately. She blinked, not believing he had said those words, that she would break his heart and kill him.

"Eri-"

She never finished her words, as the edge of the cliff crumbled beneath her and gave way. He tried to grab her, but it a moment to late. She was tumbling backwards, arms flailing, as if an attempt to fly. Time seemed slow and as thick as molasses as she kept on falling and falling and falling and-

Ink blinked her eyes open.

It was all a dream, a weird, confusing dream that was barely remembered. All she could recall was something about her breaking someone's heart. Groggily, she rubbed her eyes, looking up to only see Erik above her.

Well, not her Erik. A different one.

"Hello, gonna help me up anytime soon?"

"Oh, yes, of course." His voice was deeper, suaver than her Erik. Politely thanking him as he pulled her up, she looked around. They were in some sorta of workshop, full of robots, half made things, and sculptures. Walking to the large window, Ink looked down, seeing a large amusement park under them.

"So you are the Erik from Love Never Dies?"

"That would be me, doll," he gracefully bowed, tails of his tuxedo fluttering. He then took her hand and kissed it lightly, Ink looking unimpressed.

Ink turned around," I suggest you pack up anything you will need."

"Why? Are we two going somewhere? Alone?"

Ink tried to ignore the sound of an innuendo in his voice.

"You are going to live with me and some the two other Eriks while some things are being sorted out."

"It's because they took my Mary Sue Killer away," he stated, in a more serious and sad tone, "isn't it?"

"Somewhat," she admitted as she started to wander around, "yes, it has to do with that. Since two Erik's don't have Mary Sue Killers, I'm stuck with three of you."

Erik nodded and pulled out a large briefcase, starting to throw papers and clothes in it. Ink started to snoop, gazing at the papers, until she found something. It was a black and white photograph of Erik and a little boy with curly hair, smiling on top of his back.

"That's Gustave, my son."

"You seem very happy in the picture."

"Yeah, I don't get to see a lot. Christine," he cringed, "I mean his mother, doesn't really like us to be together much. They live on the other side of town, so I get to see him sometimes."

"What about Raoul?"

"Still drunk," Erik snapped his case and gave a somewhat cheeky grin.

"My, what a bastard."

Erik gave a throaty laugh, walking over to her. Plucking the photograph out of her fingers, he folded it in half and then stowed inside of his jacket. She awkwardly smiled at him. He wasn't that bad, a little bit of a flirt, but nicer than the Erik she had lived with. Maybe it's cause this Phantom had a kid.

"My oh my, have I made you speechless, doll?"

Okay, maybe he was more than a little flirty.

"You wish, and the name is Ink, Ink Blot."

"Ironic, with that blue hair of yours. Your parents must have wanted your life to be a living hell."

Ink didn't say anything to that comment, just looking back to the desk. There was another photo on it, glossy, in color. It was him and a women, a few years older than Ink. Cream colored hair, laugh lines, and bright sky blue eyes. It looked like she was whispering something into his ear, making him give a gaint grin.

"Her name was Margery. I went out to get a us groceries a week ago and when I came back, the work shop was a wreck and she was gone. It was I'd never even had an M.S.K. in the first place."

"I'm so sorry."

Erik glanced at her raising an eyebrow, "There was nothing you could have ever done. After all, we just meet. Goodness, this hasn't been the best introduction, has it?"

"Not the worst, but I have had better ones."

"Well, let's just attempt to start over. I'm Erik," he held out his hand.

"Do you have a different name I can use for you? I already have one Erik, you're the second, and I still have another one to meet."

"Margery," he said after a very long and thoughtful pause, "used to call me, Rick instead of Erik cause of that thick cockney accent she had."

"I'll only call you by that if it doesn't upsets you."

He smirked, "Between phangirls, Mary Sues, and the wreck of my personal life, nothing bothers me much. I guarantee it, doll."

"Nice to meet you Rick, I'm Ink," she said, taking it and firmly shaking it.

"Got a tight grip there, always love it when someone has a tight grip."

"Be a dear, and stop being a flirt."

Rick wiggled his eyebrows, "Make me."

"Okay," she said after pinning both his wrists to the desk, legs between her straddled ones. Rick just casually leaned against the desk, as if she wasn't trying to pin him down. With a smile, he started to laugh and shake his head.

"You are feisty, doll, I'll give you that."

"Listen," she softly growled, "as fun as this is, which is has been good fun times so far, you need to get on a train."

"A train ride? Don't have a ticket though, doll."

Ink pulled a white ticket out of her back pocket and stuck it in his tuxedo, "You do now."

"Always prepared, I see."

"Indeed, have you taken the train before?"

"Yes, Margery took me to meet her family once."

Ink handed him the small black cube, "I guess you know what to then."

He thanked her as he took it, before whipping it at the wall. The black portal formed slowly as Rick picked up his suitcase.  
He turned around, expectantly.

"Are you coming?"

"Nah, still have to get Erik number three. When you get off the train, there will be a girl with bright green hair waiting for you."

"Okay," he straightened his tux, "I'll keep that in mind. Anything else?"

"Be safe, don't talk to anyone, and if anything bad happens, don't try to help."

'Whatever you say, mother."

"Now go," she started to push him into the dark doorway, before he dug his feet into the ground.

"Ink?"

She sighed, "What is it now?"

"Do you... do you think that maybe, just maybe, Margery is still alive."

"I..." Ink couldn't stop from almost choking up as his soft word, "I don't know, Rick."

"I hope she is alive. I love her."

Ink looked at the ground. It was clear as day that the phantom and his M.S.K. had fallen in love. Too bad Rick had no idea that if a M.S.K. had a relationship with their character, it would be punishable by death.

You need to go. I'll see you later."

"See you later, doll," he said, returning to his flirty self, and kissed her on the cheek before leaving.

Ink sighed as the portal closed, running her fingers through her hair.

"One down, one more to go."

"Errrrrriiiiiiiiik! Where arrrrrrrrrrre yooooooooooooou? I thought you were going to show me the music of the night?!" a girl ran into the workshop, wearing a poofy dress and a sun hat.

Ink didn't even look as she pulled out her gun and shot the Mary Sue once in the head.

The young girl fell to the ground, crumbling into glitter, "Ahhhhug...!"

"Shut up."

**Luxa: Another chapter up with now Rick: a flirty, but brotherly phantom. I'm working on two fanfics at the same time now. This, and a Sherlock one, if you want to read it. Review please!**


	29. Chapter 29

**Chapter 29: Gerry**

Erik remembered the rest of yesterday being rather dull, besides Ink's fit. She had spent three hours locked up in her bedroom, throwing and screaming things as he stiffly sat on the couch a floor beneath her. When she finally did come down, she'd found him lying on the floor, composing music and tapping it out with his fingers. As he stayed like this, Ink tried to cook pasta, and Scottie read quietly with a smirk on her face.

After an silent supper at the dinner table, which consisted of no one eating anything, even though Ink hadn't overlooked the noddles for once. Then they all went back to fairly silent activities, untill Scottie got on the phone with some guy and started loudly talking for hours on end. Erik childishly had started banging pots and pans around to bother her, only to duck a swipe from Ink.

"Erik, be sensible for once."

He made a face at her and sulked on the couch.

Erik still sat there, still quietly thinking, the next morning when the blue haired girl brushed her teeth in the sink.

"How will you get there? To the other Eriks?"

"Easy," she spat out her toothpaste, "we are put into a light sleeping mode and teleported in a wooden box as we are so we don't get brain damage. Simple as that."  
His eyebrows crinkled behind his mask, "That doesn't sound exactly humane."

"It isn't."

"Then why haven't you told someone? That isn't right."

She made a small grimace, looking out the window, and then swiped the leftover foam on the corner of her mouth away. Erik awkwardly shifted on the sofa but said nothing for a while as he watched her straighten her uniform with the tips of her fingers. He didn't like the stupid uniform she was wearing. It looked so lumpy, so plain, so boring on Ink. Erik could almost feel his face warm slightly under his mask covering his face. What? No, impossible. That was just a ridiculous thought.

"I'll be back in a few hours."

"Whatever..." the Phantom grumbled at her, picking up a month old newspaper.

"I'll send the first guy on the early train, then I'll come back with the second one an hour later."

Erik didn't reply, causing her to huff.

"I'm not happy either."

"I could tell from last night," was all that he dryly said. Ink glared daggers at him.

"Look, I know that having two different versions of you, will be frustrating and no doubt a pain in the... But it's only temporary. Then things will back to normal."

"Oh yes," Erik sneered as he looked up at her. "Back to normal. With all the Mary Sues and fan girls, bothering me. And then you, trampling around, causing more trouble than you are worth. As you can tell, I'm so relieved to heard everything will go back to normal."

After seeing her rather hurt expression, Erik almost started to regret the words that flew from his tongue. Ink looked away before sharply turning around and marching out the door.

"Scottie will pick up number one in an hour or so, don't be an idiot. Please?"

Her please was very soft, barely even picked up by his own ears, but he heard it. She was asked him, pleaded him, something he didn't think she had ever seriously done before. Dumbfounded, Erik watched her slam the door, the sound resounding through the silence. He took a breath and slumped over, her simple please echoing in his mind.

That was an hour ago.

Scottie had just left, telling him she'd be back before he'd know it with another masked weirdo. Erik merely grunted at her jest, now furiously composing. He didn't know how, but he would find a way to replicate the softly spoken sound on a piano. The Phantom looked up for a moment, before continuing his frantic writing, still clueless about why he was composing.  
Composing for her.

**_Somewhere else..._**

It felt like her entire arm was on fire, as she seized up in pain. Her face was pressed up against a wet rock, possibly sandstone, digging into the flesh of her cheek and causing her to wake up. Ink attempted to roll over onto her side. What the hell had happened? She could not remember.

"H-hello?"

She instantly felt foolish for stuttering, but her heart furiously beat as she heard a scuffling. It sounded like it was coming closer to her. Using her one good arm that didn't seem broken, Ink pushed herself up to sit. She was in a cavern that looked identical to the set of the 2004 Phantom of the Opera movie.

"Are you awake now? You got a big owie and wouldn't wake up."

She turned her head to see a little boy, only at the age of three, wearing a man's shirt that was more of a dress on him. He had patchy dark hair, a little mask, and held a little coil of rope tightly in a chubby fist.

"Erik?"

The little boy nodded.

"Hi."

She tried to scoot a little closer to him, "What happened?"

"A loud, shout-y lady pour yellow stuff on my head."

The little three year old looked like he was about to burst into tears as Ink used her good arm to beckon him. Little Erik scrambled into her lap, whimpering. It all came back to Ink now: meeting Erik, a crazy authoress appearing out of nowhere, getting shoved into the hard rock floor at an awkward angle.

"I see. Do you want my help?"

"But you are hurt," he pointed at her obviously broken arm. Sighing, Ink ripped a part of the hem on his way too big shirt and fashioned a makeshift splint.

"See, all better. Would you like me to take you away from the weird, loud ladies?"

"Yes, please."

Ink stood up and hobbled around, "Now, what can I called you besides Erik. I don't want to have two of you. Hmmmm... how about-"

"Gerry."

Her lips quirked, but the little boy solemnly nodded at his own nsme choice and then grabbed onto her pant leg, tightly. She looked down at the little phantom, a little smile gracing her face.

"Gerry it is, then."

**Luxa: Thanks for all the amazing reviews! I know I haven't updated for a whole month, but it's mainly cause I'm adjusting to a new school. However, since I want to get more chapters out, I was wondering if someone would like to collab? Pm me if you do. Thanks!**


	30. Chapter 30

**Chapter 30: Admiration**

Erik was feeling testier than usual. If Scottie hadn't taken away his Punjab lasso, he would has probably strangled a couple people out of boredom right now. He had been waiting for about two hours now at the train station for Ink and the last Phantom.

He'd ready met the other, the one who called himself Rick. The handsome smooth talker who had at least half of his face. And, to be honest, he wanted to strangle Rick also. Would that be consider a suicide attempt?

"The next train will be unloading in five minutes," a woman's voice called over the intercom, making Erik stand up.

Not only was he testy, but also worried. Ink should have return an hour ago, half an hour at the latest. But she hasn't been on the last two trains. As much as he hated to admit it, his stomach was clenching with fear. All his mind could think about was the experience he had had on the train of the man being shot down. What if that was happening to her right now?

"Train 233 is unloading."

Putting his emotions and fears aside, Erik briskly walked to the platform, cloak clenched in his hands. Eyes searched desperately through the crowd to find his M.S.K. His pale woman with blue curls.

His heart may have stopped for a moment when he saw her exit the train.

"Ink!" he began running towards her, "Ink!"

She was sickly pale, paler than usual. Dark shadows were under her eyes, making her seem more exhausted than usual. Her face was dirty and scraped. In one arm was a young boy wearing a half mask. The other was in a splint.

"Hello Er-" she tiredly began as he swept himself and his cloak around her and the child, like a protective shield.

"What happened? Where you hurt on the train? Who did to you?"

"An authoress attacked me and Erik-I mean, Gerry. I fell on the rock and hurt something. I'm fine now. "

"He's younger than I thought."  
"The authoress did something to him. I don't know for how long it will last. Could you...?"

"Uh, sure."

Awkwardly, Erik took the little boy from her arm. Gerry seemed reluctant at first, but then curious at the older masked man.

"Hi," his voice was shy and tentative. Erik ignored him though, eyes only for Ink.

"Your arm... Is it broken?"

"Yes," she tiredly began the long walk outside, "I think so. Otherwise the pain should have stopped."

"We need to get you to a doctor or a hospital!"

Erik supported her with his free arm, being able to hold Gerry with one arm with ease. His hand held the small of her back gently to guide her. Silently, he marveled at the fact that she kept on walking with determination to do it by herself.

"I-I can't, Erik."

"Why not?"

She grimaced, "I don't have any insurance. I can't afford a doctor or medical bills."

"Then what are we going to do?" he snapped. Gerry tensed in his arms, softly whimpering at Erik's tone.

"I can wrap it up at home," she said before adding, "Shush, Gerry, it's alright."

Erik almost halted in his tracks when he saw the maternal look she was giving the little phantom. Never before had she looked to kind or gentle or... motherly. Human. For the first time, he saw her. Not as a Mary Sue Killer, but as a human. She cared about the little boy in his arm. His arms. It was almost like he was a father, carry his tired son, while Ink was his...

Erik ignored his foolish thoughts and remained silent the rest of the way to the apartment.

"Oh god, really?! What the hell did you do this time?" Scottie proclaimed as Ink drudged through the door, followed by Erik and Gerry.

"Authoress... Fell... Broke my arm."

She sighed, "Medical tape is in the bathroom upstairs. Now who is this?"

"I'm Gerry," he said as he wriggled out of Erik's arms and toddled over where to Rick and Scottie were sitting.

"Well, hey Gerry," Rick fondly chuckled and picked up the kid, "nice to meet you, my brother. Man, do you remind me a lot of my kid."

Scottie chuckled, "He's pretty cute... But knowing that he's a phantom, I bet the wee bastard is gonna be a handful!"

Erik realized Ink had vanished, so he stealthily crept up the stairs without the group on the couch noticing. The bathroom door was open and a soft light was pouring out of in. Quietly, he leaned in the doorway and looked. Ink was sitting on the bathroom counter, a pained expression on her face as she struggled to wrap her broken arm singlehandedly.

"Need some help?"

Startled, Ink looked up but then relaxed, "I'm fine."

"No," he firmly said,"you're not. You won't be able to properly bing your arm by yourself. Let me help you."

"Don't you have better things to do?"

"No. Now let me do that for you, please?"

She didn't look him in the eyes, but she nodded. Erik strode in, taking the bandage out of her hand, their fingers touching. He tried his best to gently hold her broken arm carefully in the right position as he began to bind it.

"Just, tell me if it hurts too much, okay?"

Her face hardened, "Okay."

As he began to wrap the cloth tightly, he observed her face out of the corner of his eye. Ink didn't flinch or hiss in pain, she merely stayed still. Unmoving as a rock. It fascinated him to no end, how she endured it.

Finally, halfway through the bandaging, he said, "I admire you."

"E-Excuse me?"

"Your strength," he hastily continued, "I admire it a lot. You are very strong, brave too. It's an admiral trait and I don't believe I have told you that."

"Thanks," she mumbled, looking down at the floor.

"You complain sometimes," he went on, "and you can be rude, obnoxious even. But you always do your job in the end. You... do it well. And I didn't mean it. What I said before you left. That you cause more trouble than you are worth. That's not true."

Erik finished wrapping her arm and carefully slid it back into her makeshift swing, his heart hammering in his chest. He had said more than he intended to. He had gave too much away and now Ink wasn't even responding. Did she hate him that much?

Full of regret, Erik straighten up and was about to leave when she croaked, "I'm not worth much in the first place though. Not to you, at least."

"Oh Ink Blot," he softly said as she looked up at him, "You are worth more than you'll ever know."

Tenderly, he placed a cold, boney hand on her flushed cheek and lightly kissed her forehead before he walked out.

**Luxa: Hey. I'm still alive. Surprise! Thanks for all the kind reviews! I'm back, baby!**


	31. Chapter 31

**Chapter 31: Explosive Reactions**

Ink hadn't moved off the bathroom counter yet, frozen in shock. Her bound arm laid limply in her lap, as she tried to focus on breathing. Part of her wanted to hit her head against the wall.  
What the hell had just happened?  
Erik, the Phantom of the bloody Opera had told her that he admired her. After weeks of being grouchy, rude, and awful to her, he complimented her. He then wrapped her broken arm and...  
Ink closed her eyes, and bit her lip. He had kissed her forehead with his clammy, dry lips with a gentleness she didn't know was in him.  
"Ink! Ink!"  
"Blaze?" her eyes widened as her boyfriend slammed the door open and bolted to her.  
His fingers started to pay her down, checking her broken arm, eyes welling up with concern as she flinched. It frightened her that when he kisses her forehead all that she can think of was Erik. Subconsciously, Ink began to shake her head, making Blaze even more concerned.  
"God, Lucy, you're in so much pain. I'm taking you to the hospital right now."  
"But-" she weakly protested as he gently pick her up bridal style.  
"I'll pay for it. I know you can't afford it. Don't worry, dearest. Everything it going to be fine."  
She tiredly swung her good arm around his neck, "How'd you know what happened?"  
"Scottie texted me when you went up."  
"Figures," Ink muttered into his neck. "That woman cannot keep her mouth shut."  
"She was worried for you. As am I. Now I am taking you to the hospital and that is that."  
Blaze bounded down the stairs by two, Ink bouncing in his arm. Rick, Scottie and Gerry were all sitting on the couch still. Erik was sulking in the kitchenette, drumming his tapered fingers, looking down at the floor.  
"Good lord, doll. How many people live in this joint?" Rick asked as soon as he spotted Blaze.  
"Don't worry, I don't live here. Now excuse us, we need to get to the hospital."  
Erik looked up, eyes narrowing as the sight before him. Scottie took a deep breath, wondering if she was going to need more whiskey in a minute. Meanwhile, Gerry slipped of the couch and started to crawl on the floor, babbling incoherently.  
Erik moved at a supernatural speed and was now blocking their path, glaring daggers at Blaze.  
Blaze tried to not look annoyed, "Excuse-"  
"Who are you?"  
"I'm Blaze Darrenson, their neighbor. Now if you excuse me, I need to get her to-"  
"She's fine. You don't need to take her anywhere. Put Ink down," Erik said in his deadliest voice, fists clenched. Ink knew in a heartbeat that one of them held his punjab lasso.  
He scoffed, "I refuse to put her down. She's hurt and I promised that I'd help her."  
"Erik..." the M.S.K. pleaded as the Phantom gritted his teeth.  
"Who are you to decide what is the best for Ink?"  
"Of course I know the best for her," Blaze's voice began to grow in volume, "I'm her-"  
Gerry picked the perfect time, in Ink's personal opinion, to sit up and wail. She was instantly wriggling out of Blaze's grasp and dropped onto the floor, cradling Gerry in her arm. Ignoring the two men having a stare off between each other, she shushed the little phantom.  
"He's probably hungry. Rick, can you cook?"  
"You bet, Doll. Come on, little me, let's see what we can whip up for a midnight snack. It's way past your bedtime."  
After Rick picked up a teary eyed Gerry and toted him off, Ink began to struggle to stand up. When both the men instinctively reached down to help her, Scottie marched between them and helped Ink up herself. After readjusting her broken arm, she started to walk away.  
"I'm so-" she put her hand up as Blaze fumbled to apologize.  
"Ink," Erik quietly spoke, "do you really need to go to the hospital? Does it hurt that much?"  
"No, I am going to be fine. Blaze was just being concerned for me. Now, I think it'd be best if I go to bed and take some medicine."  
"Darling, please-"  
"Blaze, not now. I'm sorry, I truly am. But I cannot take up on your hospitality at the moment."  
Erik was seeing red as Ink set her hand on Blaze's face, giving a soft smile. There was an unspoken chemistry between them and the Phantom despised it. Blaze reluctantly nodded, his posture stiff.  
"I'll talk to you soon then, okay? Rest for now, and visit me later when you have the time."  
She nodded, "Of course."  
He wrapped his arms around her, giving her a gentle hug. It made Erik almost sick to see his M.S.K. return it, nuzzling her head into the mans leather jacket. Erik swore that he whispered something into her ear, but he couldn't make it out. With a kiss on her temple, Blaze said his goodbyes to everyone, giving a curt nod to Erik.  
"Well, I need a drink," Scottie proclaimed as soon as the door was shut.  
"Um, doll? How much flour do you put in pancakes?"  
Ink pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed.  
"Hell, she's too tired to help you right now, Rick. Here, lets look up a recipe, okay?"  
As Scottie and Rick bustled about in the kitchen, Gerry squirming on the counter, Ink and Erik still stood in the living room. She looked down at the floor, gnawing at her bottom lip. Erik, who was silently seething, grabbed the small of her back. Startled, she looked up, frightened by the rage in his golden eyes.  
"How about we go upstairs?"  
Submissively, Ink nodded, her insides churning. She knew how possessive Erik could be with things, but she didn't think that she'd be one of them. She wasn't a treasured jewel in Erik's eyes and she certainly wasn't Christine, so why did he become so enraged at Blaze?  
"Let's hope things don't get out of hand," Scottie muttered as she watched Erik and Ink climb up the stairs.  
"I'm sure we can bang on the ceiling with a broomstick if they too loud in bed."  
"...Shut the hell up, Rick."  
"Erik, don't-" Ink pleaded as soon as they were out of earshot of the two other phantoms and her roommate.  
He pinned her to the door of her bedroom, "Who is he? What is he to you?"  
"He's my neighbor!"  
"Oh no," he snarled, "Erik knows he means more than that to you, you lying Delilah."  
"Great, more of this third person talking."  
They were dangerously close to each other, Erik straddling her on the door, hands griping her shoulders. If she knew how their position looked to an outsider, Ink would have been mortified. M.S.K.s and their characters shouldn't be this close, but here Erik was, hissing quietly into her ear. Swallowing hard, she began to fumble for her door knob.  
"So what is he? A suitor? Lover? An occasional romp between the sheets?"  
"What if he is?" She spat venomously, "What if he is my suitor?"  
"Erik forbids you. You cannot see him, not anymore. He has no claim to you."  
Ink was now desperately struggling, "You think so?"  
"Erik knows so," his voice was laced with power. "You belong to-"  
Ink's hand had finally caught on the door knob, making her fly backwards to the floor. She wanted to wince as the tremors of her body shook to her core and her broken arm. No, her mind thought stubbornly, I am going to stay strong. But as she saw him loom over her, in that emotionless mask, her heart clenched.  
"I-I hate you! You are a cruel and selfish man who thinks that you can control whatever you desire on a whim. It doesn't matter if they have feels or not. I'm not even real to you! I'm a plaything, a doll and I hate you for that! I hate you! I hate how you can be so horrible to me one day and be so kind the next. Nothing matters to you, does it? Everything you've ever said to me, all those times you protected me, they were all a lie, and I hate you, I hate..."  
Her voice drifted off. Erik hasn't even reacted to anything she said, just staring down at her impassively. She wanted to curl up in a ball. It really didn't matter to him and she was being foolishly naive to think that he did care. He was a insane Opera Ghost, a greedy sociopath and she was supposed to to a killer with a heart on steel. Ink quietly bowed her head. It seems like since she's met Erik, her heart hasn't been so heartless when it came to her occupation.  
When, she looked up, he was gone. Figures, she bitterly thought. Her cries weren't important to him. She had rubbed her eyes with her hand, dreading the idea that they could become misty, when she heard a quietly cough.  
She looked up. Erik had returned with a glass of water and a bottle of tylenol.  
"Erik...?"  
"Do you need help getting up or can you do it yourself?"  
She murmur a 'please help me' and waited as he walked around her sparse bedroom and placed the water and the pills on her bedside table. Erik then returned over to her and crouched down, picking her up in a cradling way, soothing and warm, even though she knew he was cold and smelt of death. Lumbering over, he gave up a hand to pull back the covers.  
"You're quite heavy," he quietly joked, both knowing that she was infact the opposite.  
"I'm gonna pretend I did hear that."  
His throat gave a musical hum close to laughter as he made her sit down on the mattress. Giving her the pills and water, she obediently swallowed, making Erik give a pleased nod. He gently pushed her shoulders. so differently than minutes before, and made her lay back. Ink's large eyes never left him as he drew the sheet and blanket up to her head. Erik suddenly felt very uncomfortable, awkwardly coughing. She didn't want him around, it'd be better if he left.  
But as he turned away, her small hand reached out and grabbed his wrist.  
"Erik, I-" her voice was faint, "I want to apologize for what I said earlier. It was inappropriate for me to say such things to you."  
"But a lot of the things you said were true about me. I can be quite cruel and inconsiderate to people's feelings."  
"You said a lot."  
"Yes, Erik did. The truth is... Erik doesn't think of you as a plaything. Erik, urm, can be a little bit possessive. Okay, really possessive. But that doesn't mean Erik doesn't... I, uh, do care about you," he ended lamely.  
She didn't what to say anymore, her throat felt dry and scratchy. Erik looked down at her, nervously. He hasn't intended to be so honest with her, twice in one day. He wasn't the only one surprised when Ink's hand slipped from his wrist and intertwined with his. Their fingers were tightly linked together, holding on as if nothing else mattered.  
"Erik...?"  
"Yes?" he quietly rumbled.  
"I've never heard you sing. Could you... Maybe..."  
He sighed. It had been so many decades since he had sang to anyone. The Phans and Mary Sues always begged him to sing, to play, but it no longer appealed to him nowadays. Composing was something he often did, playing his organ or piano happened every once in a while. But singing?  
"No, I can't."  
"That's okay," she said quietly, trying to not look disappointed.  
"I can't sing to you, but..." he trailed off, making her raise an eyebrow.  
Hesitantly, he lowered himself to sit on the bed, Ink automatically moving over for him. Hands still grasped together, he looked down at her. She looked so vulnerable, something he had begun to see more often. He wondered if maybe she had always been this way, and he just never knew it. But deep down, he knew that Ink had been worn down and forced out of her protective layers.  
Holding her hand tighter, he began to hum. It was quiet at first, but slowly grew in volume. She couldn't help but marvel at his voice. It was a rich, mournful sound, full of sweet notes that made her heart soar. No wonder Christine thought she was visited by an angel. Behind Erik's humming, however, another hum was rising in the streets, boots shuffling in the streets.  
Erik stopped humming, "Did you hear that?"  
"They must have organized an attack."  
"An attack," Erik stood, "you mean... for the revolution? It's happening? Right now? Outside your apartment?"  
"Seems so," she wearily replied as their hands slipped apart when he walked to the window.  
The sight that was outside Ink's window puzzled him. Thirty Mary Sue Killers were silently marching in formation down the road, each carrying a gun or cruel looking weapon. Guards in standard grey uniform stood on each block, staring at them, their guns shinning in the lamplight.  
"Nothing's happening."  
Ink struggled to get out of bed, "Let me see."  
"Be careful."  
She listened to his warning and then crept over to the window, "Oh dear."  
"What?"  
"It's a trick. A distraction," she pointed at the M.S.K.s. "The guards are so focused on making the public behave that they have become ignorant to their surroundings."  
"And what do the Mary Sue killers want the government to be ignorant of?"  
Ink licked her lips nervously. Across the street was an office, government issued. It was a place for young citizens of Techon to register for M.S.K. Academy. It was very likely that the unfairly treated Mary Sue Killers would want to rain vengeance on a place like this. She knew they had people on the inside and she also knew that the revolters were capable of making explosives. She had even helped make some of them before she had leave for Erik. At the time, she didn't know what or when they were going to be used for, but...  
"Erik, step away from the window."  
Erik turned back to see the pale girl slowly backing away, "What's wrong?"  
"Erik, we need to leave. They-"  
He never heard the rest of her sentence as the bomb in the office across the wide street exploded.

**Luxa: Thanks to all who like and review! Love ya, darlings!**


	32. Chapter 32

**Chapter 32: Home is where the heart is**

The office across the street had exploded into debris and flames, causing a huge crack of thunder. The window pane in Ink's room shattered and the floorboards trembled. Erik stumbled backwards, landing roughly on the floor. He had no idea what happened to Ink. For a moment, all he could hear was himself wheezing before he heard the yells and sounds of gunfire outside.  
"Ink!" he stood up, disoriented, "Are you alright?"  
"I'm fine." The girl who was drowsy and holding his hand a moment ago was up and alert, "We need to get out of here though. Who knows how many more bombs are being planted as we speak. Come on."  
They both ran out of the room and fled down the stairs. Rick, Scottie and Gerry were all safe, much to Ink's relief. Rick looked startled, holding a pan of burnt pancakes and had one cake stuck to his hair. Meanwhile, Scottie was trying to keep little Gerry quiet by letting him play with a piece of string.  
"Everyone okay?"  
"All fine here, honey." Scottie gave a watered down version of her usual smile. "Although I think we might have a wee problem our apartment manager sooner or later. Broken windows are never a good thing."  
"Hi Inky!" Gerry cried happily, waving the little noose he had just made at her.  
"We need to get out of here, stat. Scottie, can you grab our emergency packs?"  
"I can do zat!" she cheekily said as she deposited Gerry in Rick's arms and left the room running.  
"Great, even times of mortal peril, you quote Star Trek," Ink grumbled as she pulled a .46 caliber hand gun out of a kitchen drawer and tossed it to Erik.  
He nimbly caught it, "What do you want us to do?"  
"Keep an ear out for anymore explosions, as soon as Scottie returns, we're gonna leave for-"  
The door was kicked up by Blaze, who held a rifle in one arm, "Are you alright? Is anyone hurt?"  
"We're all fine," Ink insisted as he briefly embraced her, "Are you ready to leave shortly?"  
"Yes, I've got the car ready and packed. We can go as soon as you're ready."  
"Where are we going?" Erik tried to keep the malicious in his voice to a minimum.  
Ink turned to him, "Blaze has a summer home outside the city that we can go to while they clear out the neighborhood."  
Another explosion was heard, more distant this time, making Blaze wince. However, Erik noticed Ink give a faint smirk of triumph as she searched through kitchen cupboards. Why, he only assumed, was because she was ready for liberation. But why would Blaze finch at this?  
"Why'd you have to make bombs?" he muttered, running his fingers through his fiery orange hair.  
"We had to fight fire with fire, Blaze. You knew it would eventually come to this."  
"But why now? Why not start peacefully?"  
She looked pained as she pulled out throwing knives from behind the breadbox, "When we did protests, they just gunned us down. You saw it, dear, and so did I."  
"But attacking with bombs?" Blaze placed her hands on her shoulders, "How many innocents will die from them?"  
She didn't meet his eyes, "The needs of the many outweigh the few, Blaze. I'm sorry, but this is how it must be."  
Scottie returned carry two large backpacks, "Did I hear somebody quoting Star Tre... ooh, not a good time?"  
"You think?" Ink glared at her for a moment before grabbing the backpack and hoisting onto her back, "We need to go."  
The three phantoms, the two Mary Sue Killers and their neighbor all bounded down the emergency staircase into the underground garage.  
"I wanna drive!"  
"Scottie Valmeera, this is my car, my rules." Blaze said as he opened his car door.  
"Can I at least sit in shotgun?"  
He shook his head, "No. That's reserved for L- GAH!"  
"Gerry! No, no. We don't punjab Blaze with our string nooses!"  
"He's growing up so fast," Rick sniffed.  
"I'm sure you'll be able to kill next time, Gerry."  
"Erik! Don't encourage him," Ink barked at she tried to sit in shotgun, but Scottie had already beat her to it. "Really?"  
"Sorry," Scottie tried to give an apologetic shrug, but her grin made it hard to believe.  
Ink scowled and crossed her arms as she sat in the back seat, squished between the three Phantoms. Rick with Gerry in his lap were on her left, a sulking Erik on her right. They pulled up and out of the garage, unprepared for what they where about to see. When they got outside, Ink picked up Gerry and held him in her arms, not wanting him to see the chaos.  
The remains of the office were on fire, burning brightly and spreading to other unfortunate. buildings. Few people were out on the street, the guards had already left and in their wake had shot four of the resistors. Those that were alive were either crying and holding the dead or were vandalizing the sidewalk in front of the office with words like 'Freedom' or 'Equal rights'.  
"Let me love my character," a woman was screaming, "we should be allowed to be together!"  
Rick winced at this and looked down as the car sped away from the street into the winding back alleys. Ink knew he was thinking about Margery and wished she could do something about it. Gently, she set the sleepy Gerry into his lap again. Rick held the little Phantom and rocked him, screwing his eyes shut. After an hour or so, they both fell asleep, each mentally exhausted from all that had recently happened. Erik watched this scene, puzzled.  
"What is wrong with Rick?"  
"He..." Ink looked hesitant, "He fell in love with his Mary Sue Killer."  
Erik quirked his eyebrow, "He did?"  
"Yes," she whispered, "and that is against the law. Characters and their Mary Sue Killers have fallen in love before, it's not that rare. But, to have a relationship and to love a character comes at a very high cost."  
"What cost?"  
They were so close to each other that Erik was barely breathing. Their thighs were touching and their knees bumped into each other every time they did a sharp curve. Her hand, which rest on her thigh, was curled into a fist. He gently placed his gloved one over it, staring intently at her profile.  
She looked straight forward, "To love one's character is illegal and results in the Mary Sue Killer's execution."  
"So... Rick's Mary Sue Killer... she's dead?" Ink jerkily nodded her head, "Then what happened to Gerry's?"  
"I don't know, Erik. Possibly the very same thing. That, or someone found out she was in the resistance and executed her or put her in a work camp."  
Erik felt his mouth go dry, his mask feeling heavy against his face, "You're apart of the resistance, aren't you?"  
Erik swore that Blaze stiffened up as he drove them further out of the city onto a rocky road.  
"Yes, Erik, I am. I built some of those bombs and I have been in protests."  
He tried to ignore the lump in his throat as he slipped his fingers into her first, and tightly held her hand. Ink stayed still, not externally reacting to this small gesture. Eventually though, her fingers wrapped around his. Scottie looked at them through the side mirror, wondering what this Phantom told her best friend that turned her silent and glassy eyed. As the buildings turned to farms, she decided to turn on the radio for music, any music, something to fill the silence.  
_"As the winter winds litter London with lonely hearts..."_  
Switch.  
"So far three administrative offices have been blown up in central Techon. These where all done minutes between each other, due to rebels causing different distractions outside. Jarvis has already put up a random for anyone who was involved in this attack including the makers of the bombs and the planters besides those who where-"  
Switch.  
_"The wheels on the bus go round and round. Round and round. Round and-"_  
Switch.  
"Up next on the playlist is Scottie Valmeera's cover of 'All That Jazz' on her electric violin..."  
"Wait," Erik interrupted, "You are a musician?!"  
"Musician? More of a night club singer. I perform at places in my spare time, when I'm not killing Mary Sues. Luckily, since my character likes to kill his own Mary Sues, I get a lot of free time."  
"Who is your character?" Erik asked, wondering what poor person had to suffer with the green haired Irish monster.  
"Freddie Kruger," she said with a grin.  
"No idea who that is."  
"Horror movie character. Disfigured serial killer. Says bad pun occasionally. Him and Scottie, not surprisingly, are good friends. Good, psychopathic friends."  
"Don't grumble at me. I'm not the one with three disfigured psychopathic musicians," Erik's urge to shoot her in the head was growing strongly. She continued, "Well, lets make it two and a half since one of them is a toddler. Then again, he did try to strangle Blaze for no apparent reason, so maybe we shouldn't give him the benefit of doubt."  
"Will you leave me out of this, T?" Blaze asked as he switched from the radio to a CD.  
It was a piano composition, soft and dreamy. Erik found it very reminiscent to Chopin's romantic pieces. But this wasn't Chopin or any composer he had ever heard before. Whoever it was, Erik decided, was fairly skilled. Not as skilled as him, the great Phantom of the Opera, but still impressive.  
"So, Darrenson, what'd you name this ditty you came up with?"  
Erik's blood boiled. Of course Blaze Darrenson, the handsome neighbor, was a skilled pianist and music writer! His grip on Ink's hand tightened.  
"This? I call it the Blue Waltz."  
Blue. Blue ringlets brushed against Erik's tuxedo jacket when Ink bobbed her head in time to the music. Of course, he sourly thought. Every composer must have his own muse, whether it's a place, an idea, or a young girl. Currently this young girl was softly smiling and enjoying the music, daydreaming. Erik could've sworn that Ink had told him that music meant little to her, but now seeing her utterly enchanted by the piano, he knew differently. Part of him wondered if she'd react the same way to his music, she'd show great interest in his singing earlier.  
It was around two in the morning now, Erik grew uncomfortable as his legs began to fall asleep. Rick and Gerry were both long gone and Scottie snored loudly. Blaze drove on, his fingers tapping in time to the music on the steering wheel. Ink's head had drooped slightly, her eyelashes softly fluttering in and out of consciousness, but she still held onto his hand. When the car parked though, Scottie sprang to life.  
"We're here!" she sang and jumped out of the car and ran off.  
Ink hazily blinked, "Hmm?"  
"We've arrived, dear."  
"Oh, thank you, Blaze." She then nudged Rick, "Wake up."  
As Rick woke without disturbing Gerry, Erik unbuckled and opened the car door, pulling Ink up along with him. The 'summer home' was a beautiful small two story white house with flowering bushes on the outside surround by a thick woods.  
"Finally," Ink sighed, giving a deep breath of the woodsy air. She had missed this place and the memories that had taken place here.  
"Happy to be home?"  
She turned to her boyfriend and grinned, "Like you'd never believe."  
Erik tightly gripped Ink's hand at this, but it somehow slipped out if his. Reluctantly, he watch as Ink grabbed her backpack out of the car and started to walk by herself into the house. She calls this her home, he thought, a place that belongs to a man. A man who composes music for her and holds her tenderly. What does that say about their relationship? He buried down the thought as Ink looked back and smiled happily at him. Him!  
"Come on Erik! Hurry up!"  
He was about to take a step forward when he stopped. Hadn't he seen this before? Heard her say that before? No, he started to follow her, he must just be fooling himself.  
Scottie was already inside in the living room when he came in, pulling out the sofa into a bed, "Hey there, Grumpy Phantom! Hot Phantom is gonna sleep down here, since we don't have enough room for everyone. I always sleep up in the attic and I know there's a cradle up there so I'll bring it down for Baby Phantom."  
"You do know we have names."  
"Oh, but what's the fun in that?"  
"Where will I be sleeping?"  
"Well, I wanted to make you sleep on a mattress on the lake out back," she plumped the pillows, "but Ink wanted you to be treated nicely, so you get the guest bedroom."  
"I suppose I'll have to thank her for not being a psychotic Irish woman."  
Ink walked out of the dinning room, "You can thank me tomorrow, Erik. I need to sleep."  
"Sleep? Where did the girl who used to hunt poorly written female characters all hours of the night go?"  
"She went on vacation. Tried to, at least."  
Blaze appeared out if nowhere, walking past Erik and towards Ink. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pressed his head against her neck, whispering something. Scottie rolled her eyes and left to go back outside. Erik just stood there, thinking of all the ways he could murder Blaze Darrenson.  
"...please?"  
"No, Blaze. Not right now. You know I can't with..."  
"But it's been so long since I've..."  
"You can wait a little longer and that's that," she said firmly and gently pushed him away.  
He sighed and crossed his arms, "Very well. I suppose I can wait a little longer. Shall we go to bed?"  
Now, Erik absolutely had to intervene.  
"Yes, come on, Ink, we need to go to bed now," Erik said as he looped her arm.  
"Uh," she sputtered, "WHAT?! Erik, what are you talking-"  
"Scottie said we can have the guest room. Now come on, you need your sleep, you said it yourself."  
"But Erik-" she protested as he marched her up the stairs, Blaze glaring at Erik with distaste.  
"Goodnight everyone! We are going to bed."  
"Yowza," Scottie poked her head in, "I don't think I've ever seen someone so desperate to get into bed with someone else."  
Blaze angrily muttered something and stalked off. Scottie raised her eyebrow, concerned. An musician that's angry about his muse paying attention to someone else (willingly or not) is never a good thing. Oddly enough, that's what the Phantom himself is know for. Scottie shrugged to herself and she went outside to help the other Phantoms. It must simply be a coincidence...  
Meanwhile, upstairs, Ink had begun to chew Erik out in the guest bedroom.  
"What is wrong with you? Dammit, Erik, you're acting weirder than usual."  
"Erik doesn't like him," Erik grumbled, crossing his arms.  
"You don't have to like him, but please don't be rude. He's letting us stay here," Ink said, exasperated.  
"The Phantoms"  
"Excuse me?"  
"He's letting the Phantoms stay here, not you. You belong here. It's your home, you said it yourself. He wants you here."  
"Maybe he does, but that shouldn't matter."  
Erik glared down at her, "Of course it matters!"  
"It shouldn't. I mean, why the hell would you have a vendetta against my boyfriend?"  
As soon as she let the words pass her lips, she winced. Ink knew Erik had become possessive of her and officially saying that Blaze was her boyfriend would be the tipping point. Erik's eyes burned a liquid gold as he grabbed her wrist tightly, wrenching her tightly to him.  
"So he is your suitor?"  
"Yeah," Ink kicked him in the shin, "he is. Deal with it."  
His lips brushed against her ear, "You belong to me!"  
"Bull shit. I ain't no Christine! I- woah!"  
Ink, having once again tried to kick Erik, slipped out of his grasp unexpectedly. She landed on the queen sized bed, sprawled out with her hair fanning everywhere. He stared down at, an almost greedy glint in his eyes. This situation is becoming an awful habit... she thought, as she struggled to catch her breath. Her arm felt so sore and she was so tired, Ink felt like passing out in the very spot she was in right now.  
"Erik, listen... I get that you are, well, super possessive, but you need to understand something. This is my personal life. I've know these people much longer than we've know each other and you can't think that I now place you over them. Blaze... he's my boyfriend, he's been my boyfriend for two years. That might not make you happy, but it's the truth. You and I... we have a complicated relationship..."  
Ink blushed at this. It surprised Erik how his stomach clenched at her words. This was the girl that drove him crazy, that he chased around his opera house, this girl killed people for goodness sake! And yet, he grew possessive and felt this desire to claim her as his own. What he meant by claiming, he himself had no idea.  
She continued, "But we will work this out, okay? We're business partners, after all, I've been sworn to exterminate all your Mary Sues and I intend to do that. You just need to get through this week here and then we'll head back home. Is that alright?"  
"It's fine" he grumbled, making a relieved look wash over her face.  
"Great. Now let's get to bed."  
Using the guest bedroom, Erik changed into a old white shirt and black boxers that Ink had scrounged up in the emergency backpack. Ink had slipped off because apparently- much to Erik's distaste- she had clothes already up here in a different room. Sitting on the bed, waiting for her to return, Erik's stomach became oddly knotted. They were going to share a bed together. He had never done such a thing before, not with a Mary Sue or a phangirl. Nobody.  
With a quite knock on the door, Ink glided in. She was wearing a white nightgown, soft and downy. Her tangled strands of hair hid most of her expression, but Erik could sense that she had turned a little shy and embarrassed to be in such a position with him. He silently stood up, earring a quiet nod of appreciation from her. Ink walked to the other side and pulled back the covers, waiting for Erik to do the sane before they both crawled into bed. It was fairly dark in the room now, but they could see each other when they both turn inward and Erik's eyes still glowed in their usual eery way.  
"Are you going to take off your mask?"  
"No," he said with a biting edge.  
"It'll be uncomfortable to sleep with on though."  
"Erik has done it before."  
Oh great. More third person talk.  
"You do know that you can take your mask off in front of me," he voice was gentler now.  
"Erik has to keep it on because his face is too monstrous."  
"I don't care what you look like, Erik."  
"They all say that, but as soon as Erik takes of his mask they scream in terror."  
"I don't think-"  
He grabbed her hand, "I don't look like Rick or Gerry, Ink Blot. I am much, much worse. I am the living corpse. The Mary Sues who see my face even scream in terror. Do not say you are different from the rest, because you are not."  
"Forgive me," she lowered her head. "I didn't mean to start another fight with you. I simply thought you'd be happier with your mask off."  
"Erik is happy the way he is."  
"Really?" She looked up in amusement, "My grumpy Opera Ghost is happy?"  
"I'm not grumpy... Why does everyone think I'm an old grumpy Phantom?" Erik complained, making her chuckle. She squeezed his hand a little tighter, but then went quiet when she realized what she had been doing.  
"I, erm, guess we should be going to bed," Ink let his hand go.  
"Indeed."  
"Goodnight, Erik."  
She then turned over, giving a small tired sigh. Nuzzling her head into the pillow, she curled her feet up and against Erik's boney legs. He almost jumped out of bed. They were ice cold! Thankfully, she curled up into a ball, taking her feet off of him. A moment later, she began to lightly mummer before going dead.  
She looked so sweet as she slept, truly beautiful. His heart pounded as he scooted a little closer to her. It was a foolish thing to do, but then again, he had begun to act so foolishly around her. Tentatively, he set a hand lightly on top of her head. Slowly, he dragged his finger down through her curls. They weren't glossy and smooth like a Mary Sue's, more soft and kinda fuzzy. Erik was a little worried that she'd wake up, but Ink slept deeply. Hands trembling now, he reached to touch her side when she rolled over in her sleep. Frozen, Erik looked down, alarmed to see that Ink's face was now buried in his chest, snuggling into him.  
"Goodnight, Ink," he whispered as he wrapped his arms around the fast asleep Mary Sue killer.  
He could deny it no more. He, Erik, the Phantom of the Opera... cared about Ink Blot. Well, maybe more than cared. His feelings towards her were more passionate then that. But... she had told him that price of having stronger feelings for her. Death.  
As he held her, he quietly began to sing, _"Nighttime sharpens... heightens each sensation."_  
Perhaps he could not care for her out loud. He doesn't even know if he can truly show his affection. But for tonight, at least for this one night he can. And god be damned, he will cradle her in his arms and sing his heart out for her, even though she cannot hear him or feel.  
_"Darkness stirs... and wakes imagination. Silently the senses, abandon their defenses..."_  
Tonight, as he held her in his arms, Erik knew that it wasn't just his possessive nature and jealous mood. He didn't just care about Ink, it was much more than admiration. It felt hot and heavy in the back of his chest. Always there, growing stronger.  
Could he really be in love?

**Luxa: Ooooooh! The romance has begun ;) Reviews are loved! xoxox**


	33. Chapter 33

__**Chapter 33: Devils of all shapes and sizes**

_"Deal the cards!"  
"I call your bluff!"  
"Let them fall!"  
"The game is on!"  
"Choose your hand!"  
"And we will see!"  
"Try your best!"  
"Who wins out!  
"He who wins!"  
"WINS IT ALLLLLLLLLL!"  
"Devil take the"_  
"CAN SOMEONE TELL ME WHAT THE HELL YOU TWO ARE DOING?!" Ink roared as she marched down the stairs.  
Scottie and Rick looked up from the kitchen table with guilty looks on their faces.  
"Uh... we're playing Yahtzee."  
"At eight in the morning? Yahtzee? Yahtzee!"  
They trying not to laughing at the fuming Mary Sue Killer. Her hair looked like a rats nest and she was wearing a pair of raggedy monkey slippers along with her nightie. Scottie finally coughed to cover up her snort, handing Ink an extra score card.  
"Want to play?"  
"No."  
"Suit yourself," the green eyed girl shrugged before she turned back to Rick and sang with him, "_DEVIL TAKE THE HINDMOST!"_  
"I hate you..." Ink grumbled as she dragged herself into the kitchen.  
Blaze was already at the stove, frying up some heavenly smelling bacon. He seemed in an oddly wonderful mood, smiling and whistling... Don't Stop Believing? Her brow furrowed, confused. Quietly walking up behind him, she wrapped her arms around his waist, leaning her head against his back.  
"Good morning?"  
He stopped whistling, "Ah, good morning to you, my dear."  
"You're in a good mood for having such little sleep, whistling along to Journey, of all things. You rarely ever do that."  
"Well, I am in an expectationally brilliant mood today," Blaze flipped the bacon out of the pan and onto the plate beside him. "After all, I'm back at my cabin, I've got good food, and I've got my girl with me. What could be better?"  
"Have you gotten the newspaper yet today? Anymore information about the attacks last night?"  
He stood still, "No, I haven't gone up to the gas station yet."  
The gas station was the only place in between the outskirts of Techon and their cabin. Their friends Phoebi and Lysandar owned it. Ink wondered why he hadn't gone up to check on them or get new news. Hearing his girlfriend go silent, Blaze turned around and hugged her closely to him, minding the broken arm.  
"Lucy," he softly whispered in her ear, "for just one day, can we forget about the revolution?"  
She stepped back from him, "Blaze, what are you talking bout? We've dreamed of this, planned it-"  
"I know darling, I know. But you've just come home and I just want to spend sometime with you. With all of us, the whole gang has missed you. I've missed you."  
Ink couldn't help but fall for that sweet smile, leaning in to the smell of leather. She had missed him as he had missed her. This awful, unfair job she had to do to pay the bills kept her apart from her normal life, and she hated it, even if she did get a thrill from killing Mary Sues. Blaze tipped his distracted girlfriend's head up. They caught each others eyes and smiled, relaxing as their lips moved closer to each other.  
"Good morning," Erik commented. He had been leaning on the kitchen counter and sipping a mug of coffee the entire time, emotions under check.  
"Christ!" Ink stumbled out of Blaze's arms. "How long have you been down here?"  
"Much longer than you."  
Which was, of course, the truth. Erik had slept for around two hours or so, but he'd woken up much earlier than his Mary Sue Killer. The Phantom felt heat rise to his face behind his mask as he recalled waking up. She'd been fast asleep in his arms, face nestled on his shoulder as she was breathing slowly, legs twined with his. It was foreign, unknown territory to Erik. He had then spent the next half hour just studying her and basking in the gentle warmth.  
"I should make more bacon now that everyone's up," Blaze stiffly spoke. He didn't like the way this Opera Ghost was staring at his Lucy. Not. One. Bit.  
"Excellent idea, love."  
She kissed him on the cheek, putting him into better spirits as he went back to the frying pan. Judging from the fact that he hadn't ended her boyfriend's life either, Ink decided that Erik was in a good mood as well, though she didn't know why. Gerry suddenly ran through the kitchen, grabbing and wrapping his arms around her leg.  
"Good morning, Ink! Can I go outside and play?"  
"After breakfast, little Phantom." Picking him up, she tossed him up in up in the air, making him giggle in delight, "Seems like everyone's chipper today."  
"YAAAAAAHTZEEEEE!" Everyone covered their ears at Scottie's yell, except Rick who was moaning about his misfortune with his head slumped against the table top.  
_"You will curse the day you did not do all that the Phantom ask of yooooou!"_  
"Dude, stop pointing at me. You asked me to play Yahtzee with you and I did. Then I won. Fair and square."  
Erik rolled his eyes. She most certainly didn't win fair and square. He had been silently observing them when they were singing 'Devil Takes the Hindmost' and he saw Scottie stealthily switch the dice in the cup before she rolled her Yahtzee.  
Rick glowered, "I know you cheated somehow, I just know it."  
"Clever Phantom," Ink noted as she put Gerry down, "but you'll never pin the crime to her. Not in a million years."  
"Don't stroke her ego, dear. You know how much T can gloat. Hey, paws off!"  
Scottie cheekily grinned as she snatched a slice of bacon out of the frying pan, already gloating. The Irish woman raised it to her mouth and was about to chomp down when it vanished from her fingertips.  
"Erik! Aw, come on, I stole that fair and square!"  
Blaze blinked, seeing the bacon was already back in the pan. A phantom indeed, he darkly thought to himself, totally ignoring the chaos beginning around him. Quietly composing in his head and cooking, it was only still a small hand gripped his back and shook him that he broke out of his reverie. Lucy. Her sweet youthful was full of concern and a touch of fear.  
"Blaze, did you invite anyone over?"  
"Huh, wha-"  
"Phoebi? Lysandar? Does anyone know we are here?" her whispers was growing more panicky by the second.  
He shook his head, making her pale, "No one. Why? What's wrong?"  
"There was a knock on the door."  
Blaze swore that his heart almost stopped. Looking over her head, he saw that everyone else was already seated at the table, staring at the two of them. Another knock; three times sharp. It echoed around the cabin, a hollow sound.  
"I'll go see who it is. It could just be some lost person for all we know. Be prepared though. Keep everyone safe," he kissed her forehead. "If it's the police, I'll stall them long enough for you to get away."  
"Blaze-"  
One more knock, louder this time, "I love you."  
"What's going on? Who's at the door?" Rick asked from the table, but Blaze brushed past him. Scottie eyed him worriedly chewing her toast and thickly swallowing.  
"I'm coming. Please hold on."  
Whoever was behind the door, was now silent. Blaze With a deep breath, he walked to the door. Bracing himself for anything, he grabbed the knob and slowly turned it.  
"Hello. I can-"  
For the second time on the past couple minutes, Blaze felt his heart stop. Cold, wolfish eyes looked down at him, chilling his blood.  
"Why, hello there nephew. It's been a long time. I found out there were some explosions on your street last night and decided to get someone to follow you. How have you been?" Jarvis ask as if they were talking about the weather.  
"You followed me?"  
The man ignored how Blaze gripped the doorway tightly, "You know, precautionary measures, wanting to know you were safe, making sure you weren't another stupid rebel. That sort of thing."  
"What. Do. You. Want?"  
"To talk to you. Make a proposition to you. It's been a long time since we talk. You certainly changed. Hanging out with the wrong crowd. Tisk tisk."  
"What are you insinuating?"  
Jarvis' lips twitched, "Nothing. I already know that your pretty girlfriend and her friend are rebels. I'm not stupid."  
Blaze felt the floor fall out from under his feet.  
"If," he said as calmly as he could, "my friends are rebels as you claim, why haven't you killed them?"  
"You're a very smart young man, nephew. A handsome face, very charming. During the times of war, someone like you can become an important game piece."  
"You think you'll turn my friends into pawns?"  
"Possibly, but very unlikely. Your rebellious little friends aren't dead yet, because I need a bargaining chip to get you. So, will you listen to my proposition, nephew?"  
"Blaze! It's everything okay out there?" Lucy called out to him, making Blaze close his eyes. His Lucy's life is lying in his hands and she's standing a room away, totally oblivious.  
"I'll listen to what you have to say. For their sake."  
"Good boy," the man praised. "I knew that you'd see it my way. Come on a walk with me, there are things we need to discuss."  
Ink felt relief wash over her as she heard Blaze's footsteps returning. Everything was okay, she thought to herself. She had worked herself up over nothing. Well, not nothing. Blaze had been gone for the past half hour and everyone was almost done with breakfast. Her bare feet padded across the floor, Gerry had perviously stolen her monkey slippers, gripping her cup of coffee loosely, eager to see him.  
"Blaze, did everything go- Oh!"  
Her mug slipped out of her hands, squeezing her eyes shut.  
That wasn't Blaze. Not in the slightest.  
She waited for the sound of shattering ceramic, but nothing came. Prying her eyes open, all Ink could see in her range of vision was a large hand holding her mug out to her. Ink knew it wasn't her lover's hand, she knew who it belonged to and that terrified her.  
"My, my... Aren't you clumsy in the morning, pretty little thing."

**Luxa: Once again, I appear out of nowhere with an update! Sorry bout that. I love you all and your review make my day! Ship on ;)**


	34. Chapter 34

**Chapter 34: Debts**

"Sir, Jarvis, I-" Ink meekly bowed her head and tried not to grit her teeth as he handed her back the coffee cup. "Thank you."  
The man simply nodded, looking bemused. Everyone now stood up at the kitchen table silently. Everyone besides little Gerry, who solemnly sat, aware of the thick atmosphere in the room. The two other Phantoms were tense and ready to pull out their lassos at any moment.  
Scottie was the first to speak.  
"Can I get you anything to eat? Drink?"  
He shook his head as he stepped back from Ink, "No, I'm fine"  
"What brings you out this far, Jarvis?"  
"Why, you do, Ms. Valmeera," he oozed past Ink reach her. As the same time, Blaze reentered the room. Ink hastily went over to check on boyfriend looked pale and weary, but relieved to see her and hold her broken arm gently by the elbow. In the other, she clutched her coffee cup so tightly, she thought the handle might possibly shatter.  
"Me?" Her tone was light.  
"Yes. As we all know, the annual M.S.K. gala is approaching quickly. The brightest and most talented performing for the top characters and people of the land. I came out personally to invite you to preform in its showcase. You are quite the rising star after all."  
At this, he handed her an invitation, one that looked formal and regal on its creamy cardstock.  
"How kind of you to do so. It is coming up very quickly, as I recall."  
Erik found it rather unnerving how formal Scottie and all the Mary Sue Killers were. He toyed with the catgut his Punjab lasso was made out of, trying to not be anxious. Jarvis nodded and continued:  
"Yes, in just a few days. I do hope you'll be able to perform. It's in these troubling times that we need people to show support to their city and government. Mr. Darrenson has already excepted my invitation to perform."  
Ink held his hand tighter and whispered if that was why he was gone so long. Blaze kept looking forward and did not reply.  
"Of course, it'd be rude to not accept," Scottie coolly said and bowed her head. "We all must do what can to show support, isn't that right?"  
It was here Erik thought it was all going to be over. Jarvis would see the hatred in her words and declare them all rebels before executing them on the stop. Numbly, the phantom could already picture the blood on the floor, seeping through their colorful hair, and the three phantoms still standing next to the three freshly dead bodies in shock. But, much to his surprise, Jarvis instead warmly smiled.  
"Wonderful. That's all I came out here for. Now, I must be going."  
"Of course. We would hate to impose you for any longer than needed," Ink told him, causing the man to turn towards her.  
"How kind of you to say so, Ms. Blot. Would you please escort me out?"  
At this, Blaze held her elbow tightly. A jolt of pain rushing though her arm. To be honest, she needed. Ever since Jarvis had entered, she'd been in a haze. She needed to wake up, even if it was painful. Over the tall mans shoulder, she could see Erik about to both open his mouth in protest. Quickly, she blurted out that she would. Erik's eyes glowed amber at this and Blaze dropped his grip from her elbow.  
"Delightful," he purred and held out his arm. She set down her coffee and took it accepted it, escorted him down the hall, not looking back.  
As soon as she as shut the front door behind them, he stopped them both, taking her hands.  
"You know, Ms. Blot. Or may I call you Lucy? I have extended the invitation to you as well."  
"Have you now?" She murmured, feeling rather sick as he handed her her own invitation.  
"Oh yes, I'll heard of your gift. And with Mr. Darrenson performing, naturally you will have to do so as well. I recall you both being in the production of The Phantom of the Opera at the academy. I was never able to see any of the performances, but I heard many things about it. Especially about you. Naturally you'll have to be in it with him. After all, what is a Phantom without his Christine?"  
It was rather ironic, but Ink knew the answer to that now.  
"Do forgive me," Ink said, looking up at him,"but I do not think I'll be able to with my injury."  
With that, she gestured to her bandaged arm, but Jarvis merely tutted.  
"Can a bird not sing with a broken wing? Very well, take this. It shall heal your arm up as good as new and then there shall be no other obstacles."  
He pulled out a pill sealed up in foil and placed it in her hand. She sharply inhaled. This was medicine that was strong and powerful and absolutely far too expensive for her to consider ever buying. This was a power play. He was giving this to her intentionally. But why was he doing this?  
Ink thickly swallowed her anger, "It seems I am now indebted."  
"I'm sure you can repay me, pretty little thing, by performing at the Gala. Perhaps even singing a nice aria by yourself as well."  
"Of course," she said, tightening her grip on the pill.  
"I shall see you in a few days then," he then kissed her hand that held the pill and straightened up looking right at her.  
"Until then," she stonily replied as he turned and walked down the drive way to a car surrounded by soldiers. The sight of him made her so sick that she didn't even wait for his car to drive away before she entered the house. Damn it if she was being disrespectful, she darkly thought before she was bombarded by people.  
"Are you alright?" Erik demanded, "Did he harass you any more?"  
"Did he say anything to you?"  
"Erik... Scottie..." she mumbled trying to push them away with no avail.  
Scottie's eyes narrowed, "What's that in your hand?"  
The Irish woman pried the pill out of Inks hand. Her green eyes widening when she realized what it was. At the same time, Blaze had silently appeared and gently tugged the invitation out of her hand. They met eyes, him being pleased, her begging him to be quiet about it.  
"I'll... I'll get you a glass of water."  
As Scottie rushed off Erik tried to speak again but Ink raised her hand, "It's medicine, if you must know. It's not poisonous, I'm sure of it. It'll heal my broken arm."  
Erik huffed but nodded. Blaze then ushered the Phantom and his girlfriend back into the dining room, her invitation securely in his pocket. Rick and Gerry were still at the table. Rick nursing a coffee as he looked bleak, coping with the fact he just met the man who most likely sent his M.S.K. to her grave and Gerry trying to construct what looked like an opera house out of pancake wedges.  
"Here," Scottie handed her the pill unwrapped and a glass of water. Quickly, Ink downed it with a grimace.  
"Blaze, please unwrap my arm." She laid the arm in the table, "Erik, hold onto my hand for a moment. My arm is going to seize up a couple times as it heals and I don't want to break anything."  
Wordless, Blaze began his task. He did it efficiently and with care, Erik noticed. He, on the other hand, grasped his Mary Sue killers hand, not sure what was to come.  
"Your hand feels as cold as mine usually do."  
"Well, at least they don't 'smell like death'."  
It was a poor, weak joke that would have aggravated Erik had she not tightly gripped his hand as her arm shook. Ink bit her lip, feeling her bones healing underneath her skin at an excelerated rate. Blaze brushed a few stay curls from her face before kissing her forehead in attempt to calm her down. For what seemed to be forever, her arm spasmed until eventually her arm came to a still.  
"That's my brave girl," Blaze told her. "Now try to move it."  
She stood up by herself and used her once broken arm to push her chair back under the table. With reluctance, she agreed that her arm was good as new, just as he had said. But at what price?  
"My, it seems like we always have some commotion going on," Scottie sighed. "Glad to see your arm is back. With what's to come, you're going need it."  
"Why'd he give you the medicine?" Erik sharply asked. Glancing over to Scottie frantically for backup, Ink bit her lip.  
"Urm-"  
"Erik," Scottie quickly interjected, "you haven't seen the music room yet. You really oughta. Blaze has a wonderful Steinway up there..."  
With a little provoking, Scottie got all the Phantoms to go up to the music room. The look she gave Ink and Blaze as she herded the fictional characters up the stairs was that they owed her. Big time.  
As soon as they were gone, Blaze pulled out her invitation.  
"What did you tell him?"  
"I couldn't say no, could I?" she told him a little dully, but he didn't notice.  
Jubilantly, he picked her up and spun her around, causing her to break out into a smile.  
"I'll get to sing with you again! Oh how I have missed that, Lucy. We'll have to start practicing right away-"  
"Not in front of Erik."  
He set her down, "He doesn't know...?"  
"Nothing. Well, he knows I'm your girlfriend. But he doesn't know about me or playing Christine or even that I can sing."  
"That was wise of you," Blaze said in a serious tone as he caressed her cheek. This was good, he thought. The Phantom knew that Ink belonged to him, but was still in the dark to her exquisite voice. That is the way it should stay that way, he firmly thought as he kissed her lightly.  
"Please, don't tell him, don't even mention it near him," Ink practically begged.  
"Of course, darling. But we must practice before the Gala... I need to hear you again. Sing with you."  
Their kisses where deeper now, more passionate.  
"Yes. Tonight, Blaze. I'll sneak out when Erik's asleep."  
"Good, good. Because there's things..." He fumbled to find the small box in his back pants pocket and kiss her at the same time, but he couldn't let her go.  
A loud thump came from upstairs, making her break away.  
"We should go check that out."  
Sighing in disappointment, he agreed. With his hand placed on the small of her back, he lead her up the stairs, hearing an argument upstairs. Suddenly, Ink stopped in her tracks.  
"Blaze, why we're you outside with Jarvis for so long?"  
Blaze never replied, instead almost hypnotically humming into her ear softly and guiding her up the rest of the stairs. Everything was going to be alright now, he told himself. He had his lover/muse back. He had his music. All he needed to do was hold onto them both until this revolution died out. Sure, Ink was going to be in the dark about somethings but, he thought as he held her to him closer, sometimes a Phantom must do that for his Christine.

**Luxa: I am officially the worst updater ever. But hey, long dramatic chapter! Reviews are loved xoxo**


	35. Chapter 35

**Chapter 35: Meet the Parents**

"He did it," Rick, Erik, and Scottie all said and pointed at Gerry, who was sitting under the piano and sucking his thumb.

Ink rolled her eyes, "Sure, blame it on the toddler."

Blaze merely grumbled. The thud they had heard from on the stairs was the sound of a box of his compositions falling off a shelf. His music was scattered everywhere, pages all out of order. Breathing deeply, he tried to keep calm himself. Afterall, he was in front of his guests. Guests he rather wished would be gone from here so he could be alone with- He broke out of his thoughts when he realized Lucy was handing him sheets of music she had begun to collect carefully from off the floor.

"Thank you," he quietly whispered. She gave him a small slip of a smile before turning around to collect more.

"Very nice Steinway," Rick offered up as an attempt of an apology. "She's a beauty."

"Yes, she is. Been in my family for a very long time."

Erik muttered something about how he had an organ, a genuine Stradivarius violin, and a Steinway in his home under the lake but no one listened to him. The grumpy phantom, living up to the nickname he was given, sulked until he accidentally stepped on a piece of music. Mildly curious, he picked it up. Lucy's Sonata, he read with an eyebrow raised (not that anyone could see with that mask that nearly covered up his entire face). Who was Lucy?

"It's great to play, I should know since I've played it before..." Scottie trailed off, "Gerry's not under the piano anymore."

"What?"

"I said that-"

"I heard you the first time," Ink snapped, "God, where is he?"

Frantically, they all began searching about the music room, but the littlest Phantom was nowhere in sight. Soon, they were calling out for him. Splitting up, they began to comb the house. Rick was pleading as nicely as he could in a equal measured tone, being the only one with his own child. On the other hand, Scottie was just shouting Gerry's name loudly into every corner in a lazy attempt to help. Blaze was offering incentives to every room. Promises of treats and music. Unfortunately, Erik wasn't used to children, so...

"Come out and I won't strangle you."

"Erik, you can't say that to yourself!"

Erik looked over at Ink, "Why ever not?"

"We want to find Gerry, not scare the living day lights out of him, she snapped as she looked under the couch.

Of"Oh ho, so you admit it now? I scare you?"

"What the hell are you rambling on about now? You aren't scaring me at the moment, you idiot. You're pissing me off and threatening one of my characters that is technically you. I don't have time for this!"

They both glared at each other until the cellphone rung out. Still giving him the stink eye, she picked her phone off the coffee table and grumpily answer it, "Hello?"  
Suddenly her mood changed from grouchy to alert, "...Yes, we're okay. We got out into the country. We are fine and no ones hurt. What about you?

"Who is it?"

Ink ignored him. Nodding as if the caller could hear her, she continued to talk. She clutched the phone tightly as if it were her lifeline. Erik huffed and sat on the couch, sulking. There was so much he didn't know about Ink, he mused. Which was understandable, they'd only known each other for a month. But she already knew so much about him while he knew little about her.

"Hold on, someone else is trying to call me. Can I call you back later? Thank you. Hello? Oh, hello Mom..."

"What?" Erik exclaimed, "You have a mother?"

Scottie poked her head into the living room, "Of course she does. You didn't sincerely think she just came out of a box, did you? The girl has parents."  
Of course Erik didn't think that, but still the idea that Ink has parents and was once a child seemed so strange. All he could picture was a little girl with a blue curly mop of hair running around and trying to stab everything. Funnily enough, there wasn't much a difference to how she was now.

"...What do you mean you're already at the gas station? You could have asked before inviting yourself over! I'm sorry Mom, I didn't mean to snap." Ink was anxiously tapping her feet, the monkey slipper heads bobbing up in down in a rhythm. "We've just got a full house at the moment... Yes, it's the Phantom of the Opera."

"Why are you talking about me now?"

She glared at him with the universal look of 'Shut The Hell Up' and continued, "Look, before you two come over, can I please just ask Blaze if it's okay? ...Thank you. I'll be back in a minute."

Setting the phone down on the couch next to Erik, she jumped over it. Of course she understood why her parents were worried. They'd heard the news about the bombings near her apartment and it threw them into a frenzy. That wasn't a surprise, but she didn't think they'd drive this far out into the country in hopes of finding her here before even calling her first. She jogged up the stairs, finding Blaze searching under the bed for Gerry. He looked up at her in concern.

"What's wrong?"

"My parents are over at the gas station. Apparently, they were so worried about us that they didn't call till they got here to see if we were available. Is it alright if they come over for a little while?"

He stood up, dusting off his pants, "Of course, my darling Lucy. You know your parents are always more than welcome to drop by."

After all, he thought, the bright smile she gave him when he said yes was worth agreeing to any matter. Bouncing over to him, Ink chastely kissed him on the cheek. With a quick thank you, she then rushed off to grab her cell phone once more. Blaze watched her go, a tight feeling in his chest. He could never say no to her and today it was evident that he'd do anything for her as well. Now he sincerely hoped she'd do the same.  
Ink lept down the stairs and back into the living room to see Erik's long, boney fingers about to grab her phone.

"Hey! Paws off, Mister!" she snapped as she picked the phone up, "Mom? Are you still there? I talked to Blaze, you can both come on over. Yes, I'll see you soon. ...Love you."  
"Do you want me to declare my undying love for you as well?" Rick asked as he strutted in after Ink had ended her call.

"Shut up and straighten your tux, you flirt. My parents are coming over."

"So soon? I thought we'd have dinner at least once first before we begin wedding arrangements."

Erik gnashed his teeth at Rick's absurd flirting, still sulking on the couch. What an improper way to speak to his Mary Sue Killer! This Love Never Dies Phantom was far too cocky for Erik's taste. No doubt it was because of all his edgy rock songs in his musical and his ridiculously lavish Phantasma have gone to his head. However, Ink just brushed him off, shoving him aside.

"Ink, are you going to get dressed?" Scottie shouted from the other room.

She blinked blankly, "What?"

"You're still in your nightie and slippers, you know."

Her mouth opened and shut a few times before her face turn per bright pink, "I'm still in my nightgown. I talked to Jarvis. In. My. NIGHTGOWN?"

Scottie and Rick tried to not snicker but it was fairly unsuccessful. Of course, then Ink said some very explicit things that cause them to hoot even more. Erik merely scowled as he was used to this behavior. Of course, he'd never admit that a small smile came to his face as she marched up the stairs, shouting that'd she Punjab them all. When the laughter behind him died down, the Opera Ghost had thought that perhaps Scottie and his doppelgänger were gone, but nope... a tasseled throw pillow connected neatly with the back of his head.

"Come on, grumpy Phantom! We still have to find Gerry!"

Upstairs, Ink quickly dressed, trying to run a check list off in her head. The house was relatively clean, she currently had two of her three phantoms accounted for, Scottie wasn't drinking yet this early in the morning. With a bit of luck on her side it was possible that she might just make it through this ordeal. The doorbell rang downstairs. She smoothed her hair down and took a deep breath before walking down the stairs. Hopefully luck was on her side today.

"Here, I'll open the door," Blaze said warmly, already waiting for her. No one else was in sight.

"Thank you."

As soon as he opened the door, her parents ran towards her. They tightly embraced the Mary Sue Killer between them. Ink hugged back, closing her eyes. She had truly missed them.

"You're alright," her mother said, kissing her forehead. "Oh thank heavens you're alright."

Ink could see her vision starting to blur, "I'm so glad you guys are too. I missed you so much."

"Please, do come in. May I take your coats?"

Her father finally let go of her and turned to Blaze, "No need to act so stiffly, son. You are a part of our family now, you know. Really I should be thanking you for keeping our daughter safe."

"No need to thank me," Blaze bowed his head slightly out of respect. "You know how much I love your daughter."

"You're such a kind boy. We're so glad you two found each other," her mother said as she took off her coat and handed it to him. As they made their way to the living room, Ink quickly dried her eyes before anyone else could see. Better to do it quickly before her mother started to fuss over her again. Settling her parents down, her mother then asked, "Where's Scottie? Isn't she here with you as well?"

"She is, Mom. She's just... looking for one of my characters right now."

Her father raised an eyebrow, "Characters? We thought you had just one?"

"Jarvis gave me two more."

"Two more? That's highly unusually for someone just starting out. Who-"  
"Hello," Rick then promptly glided out of nowhere, his cape trailing behind him in a flourish. "You must be Ink's parents. I am delighted to meet you. I am Rick, the Love Never Dies version of the Phantom."

With that, he then took her mother's hand and kissed it and then did the same with her father's. Blaze rolled his eyes at this and Ink smacked herself on the forehead. Of course Rick would like to make a dramatic entrance. Both of her parents didn't exactly know what to say, blinking confusedly.

"Ink, is-"

"INK!" Erik roared out of nowhere and then stormed in. "I cannot find that little devil anywhere! I've searched all over this bloody house, but that heathen is... Oh. These are your..."

Her voice was tight, "Yes, these are my parents."

Well, this was terribly awkward. Erik shuffled in silence for a moment, looking at the couple on the couch. The man had the same nose as Ink, his peppered hair and beard as curly as her locks. Her mother had the same jawline and her hair was also blue but a lighter, more pastel shade. There was no doubt about it: these were Ink's parents and they were looking at him as if he was from another planet.

"Mom, Dad... This is Erik. He's the actual Phantom of the Opera. Erik, Rick, meet my parents, Edwin and Camellia."

Suddenly, Erik felt Ink foot connect with his ankle. He was about to yell at her for kicking him, but noticed she was already giving him a dirty look. What for? Oh, yes, she probably want him to do social niceties,

"It's very nice to meet you," he then held out his hand to which both of the parents hesitantly shook.

"Likewise." Camellia then turned to her daughter, "So you have two Phantoms? Who's the third character?"

Suddenly, Scottie bolted down the stairs looking flushed.

"I found Gerard Butler with a really bad sunburn on his face naked in the closet!"  
With that she swooned and fell to the floor in front of everyone.

**Luxa: More long chapters and faster update for all my great reviewers! Thank you!**


	36. Chapter 36

**Chapter 36: The Sunburn Conundrum**

God dammit, Gerry! Can you please come out?" she asked before angrily kicking the closet door.

"No."

Ink's parents had left pretty quickly after Scottie's swooning spell. They had both been rather mortified and decided leaving was the best option. Ink herself had felt pretty embarresed as well, apologizing as her parents kissed her goodbye and left. Now they were all trying to get Gerry out of the closet. Except Rick and Scottie ditched them because they wanted to watch 300 for the sole fact that Gerard Butler was in it and looked hot. Blaze was also nowhere to be seen. Erik was leaning up against the wall and merely playing with his Punjab lasso, so he wasn't much help either.

"Look, I'm sure you're confused and suddenly you're not a toddler anymore and you're naked and somehow you've also lost your mask, but things could be worst."

"How could they?" Erik asked, "His movie was directed by Joel Schumacher."

Muffled wailing came from inside the closet now. It seemed the Gerry was a little more sensitive than his counterparts. The Phantom looked fairly amused, especially after Ink glared at him. Gentleness was certainly something Erik couldn't do, she moodily though, especially in a situation such as this.

"Be nice, or at least attempt to until we calm Gerry down. The movies not that bad."

"Are you kidding me? It's-"

"No wonder the phangirls were after you. They probably didn't like the fact you bash the 2004 film. A lot of people are quite found of it. I didn't think it was bad. Sure, it wasn't perfect, but there are so many terrible Phantom of the Opera movies."

"What are you trying to say?"

"I'm just saying, Erik, that maybe there are other movies of yours that deserve more bashing than this one."

"I will do this so called 'bashing' if I please," Erik huffed. "Who can stop me? I am the living corpse, the true Phantom of the Opera. I'm-"

"You're also a jerk face who isn't nice," Gerry yelled childishly, causing Ink to laugh. Erik scowled down at her but she wouldn't stop. They were both acting childish in his opinion. With her hand smothering the last of her outburst, her smile still met in her eyes. While he didn't like the fact she'd laughed at him, the fact she was smiling at him made his chest tighten. Of course, he had to asked her what was so funny.

"You're a jerk face who doesn't have a nose." Ink found the Punjab lasso being thrown at her in lighting speed. Luckily, she put her hand up just in time that she didn't choke.

"I'd be careful what you say," Erik sounded threatening but had a playful tone

"Well, look at that. ALW was right. Keep your hand at the level of your eyes. How helpful of them to sing that over and over in the musical."

"Darling, I-"

Blaze walked in to find Erik and his girlfriend only inches apart from each other, his noose around her neck. Of course, that was a concerning sight. However, the thing that made his blood simmer was how they looked at each other. While a noose around the neck seemed like the clear intent to kill, Lucy was grinning up at the Phantom. Albeit smugly, it was still a grin, as if they were playing a playful game.

The Phantom himself looked rather impassive with his white mask covering everything besides his mouth in chin. However, in those golden eyes was soft mirth, a warmth for the Mary Sue Killer. Blaze gritted his teeth when he realized he wasn't reading between the lines anymore. The Phantom of the Opera clearly had feelings for his girlfriend, his one and only muse. And that just would do.

"Darling, I found some spare clothes for your character."

Ink slipped out of the noose, seeming oblivious to all that he'd witnessed. She thanked him, taking the clothes and heading back to the closet door. Erik and Blaze on the other hand, began staring each other down, things unsaid but clearly spoken. Blaze then angrily stormed off, wanting to watch 300. His lust for blood need to be stated somehow and he had to find a way to bide the time until his Lucy could meet with him privately at night.

"Gerry, it's me again. Look, Blaze got you some clothes. If you open the door I can throw them in for you without even looking. Okay?"

"...No peakys?"

Ink sighed. Were they sure that he wasn't still a toddler? "No peakys, I promise. Do we got a deal?"

Quickly, the closet door opened a crack and Ink blindly tossed in the pile of clothing. After a couple moments of fabric rustling, the door hesitantly opened again from the inside. She stepped back and impatiently waited for him to come out. He stayed in the dark.

"I... I don't have my mask." his voice was gravely, an odd mixture of a British and Scottish accent.

"So?"

"I am a monster, a freak! No one ever sees the Phantom without his mask and lives to tell the tale!"

Ink rolled her eyes at his melodramatics, "Oh please, Scottie saw you naked and without your mask just a little while ago and last time I saw her she was fairly alive. You're not a monster or freak compared to how the Musical version of you looks with half of his face deformed. I'm not even going to mention Erik's face thanks to Gaston Leroux's description of him. All you have is a god damn sunburn on half of your face."

"Wha-"

"Ugh, I don't have anymore time for this! Come on, let's just find that mask already. Everyone else is watching 300 and we're missing out!"

Roughly, she reached in and grabbed a startled Gerry by the arm. Ink dragged him out, the opera ghost looking rather dazed and confused. Erik watched, rather scandalized at the fact that Gerry's deformity really did just look like a bad sunburn. Where was the smell of death and lack of nose? Also, he was Gerard Butler for crying out loud. He wasn't lack in the department of good looks. Some phantom just have all the luck, he grumpily thought, and are able to last through colds...

**Luxa: Btw, I love the 2004 movie, I just like to poke fun at it ;) reviews are loved! Almost to 200, wow!**


	37. Chapter 37

**Chapter 37: Drama Queens **

"At least I have the balls to sword fight Raoul! Meanwhile, you just made a bet on the love of your life with him as if she were a piece of furniture."

Oh please," Rick roared, "you lost that sword fight! Regardless of my mistakes, at least I didn't wear such a lame Red Death costume. It didn't look frightening in the slightest. Where's your mask that looks like a real skull and your fireballs? You can't deny that in both of my musicals, I've got style!"

Gerry's nostrils flared, "Circus freak!"

"Crybaby!"

"Drama Queen!"

"Tone death!"

"Everyone loved my rendition of The Point of No Return," Gerry sounded a but frantic. "They thought it was sexy!"

Rick scoffed, "Sure, but you're not classically trained. You butchered The Music of the Night!"

At this, Gerry started to wail again.

Ink ground her teeth. This was all Scottie's fault. After watching 300 and fixing a light lunch, Scottie had declared it Gerard Butler day and insisted they watched the 2004 version of The Phantom of the Opera. The results were disastrous, to say the least. Scottie was singing along at the top of her lungs, Gerry got emotional, Erik left halfway through out of disgust, and all Rick did was complain. She and her boyfriend tried to enjoy it, curling up and listening as they snuggled, but it was rather hard to hear all the time with the chaos surrounding them.

"Ladies," Scottie shouted with her ears blocked by her hands, "You're both pretty!"

Everyone was silent at that.

"...ugly? Yeah, pretty ugly. Whatever, can you just calm down?"

"I swear that like less than 24 hours ago, these two were the best of buds and Gerry was sleeping on Rick's lap." Ink grumbled to Blaze.

He absentmindedly toyed with her hands, "True, but Gerry isn't exactly a cute mostly silent toddler anymore."

"Damn that stupid authoress for making this mess in the first place..."

Finally, the Mary Sue Killer pushed herself off his lap and marched over to the Phantoms. Planting herself right in between the two of them, her chin jutted out and she glared at them both.

"Look, both of you. You're acting foolish and childish. I know right now that everything is not ideal, but if you gained some goddamn maturity, perhaps this would all go a little smoother. In like just three days we will all be able to go back the Paris Opera house and you'll have plenty of space to yell at each other and play pranks... Whatever you Phantoms do. Stop acting like children and start behaving like Phantoms."

Suddenly, they both straightened up with mischievous glints in their eyes.

"Whatever we Phantoms do?" Gerry literally purred.

"We've tried to be nice, Ms. Blot, but if you really want us to be Phantoms, so be it!" Rick thundered before throwing a smoke bomb down.

Coughing and unable to see, Ink blindly threw punches and kicks as she was lifted up and carried away.

"Scottie, turn on the fan!"

At Blaze's request, she blindly searched for the light switch on the wall. Finally, she was able to find it and turn it on. The ceiling fan started up and the smoke cleared away. Ink and the Phantoms were nowhere to be found.

"Seriously?" Scottie said, looking up at the ceiling.

"Your attitude will bring the chandelier down! GOOOO!"

The light bulb from the light fixture in the ceiling fan shuddered once before falling onto the floor and shattering. Overall, it was very anticlimactic.

"Well, shit."

Blaze made a noise of irritation and crossed his legs as he leaned back on the couch.

Scottie continued, "Where do you think they went?"

"They are probably holding her hostage in the music room," he paused for a moment and they could both hear the piano being loudly played. "See?"

"Are you going to rescue her then?"

"No, I don't think I should. That's what they want. Eventually, they'll get bored and let her go. None of these Phantoms are really threatening nowadays. You've seen them. They're all washed up."

She nodded. This was true. "I suppose I'll have to clean this up now?"

"That'd be nice, thank you. I'll go start supper and get things ready for tonight."

Scottie became much more alert, "I'm assuming that this has to do with what you'll be asking Ink tonight."

He smiled and nodded before leaving. Scottie soaked this in. Her best friend was going to get proposed to, tonight! It was very excited and she knew this was going to be inevitable for the happy couple, but... she glanced up the staircase to where the music room was. She had to honest that she was worried how the Phantoms would take it. Well, more how one certain Phantom would react. With a shake of her head, she strolled off to get a broom.

"I am going to kill you both," Ink spat upstairs. After Rick picked her up and carted her off to the music room, the Phantoms had tied her to a chair.

"That might be a little bit hard for you," Rick idly said as he stood next to her, casually sewing some white that Ink could not make out

_"I have brought you, to the seat of sweet musics throne to this kingdom where all must pay homage to music, music."_

"Gerry, stop singing and murdering that poor piano! I'm not Christine, therefore this is all pointless!"

He pouted, "But I like that song. And besides, this isn't pointless. Your boyfriend is going to come try to save you and then we can Punjab him to prove our point that we are very scary Phantoms."

"Seriously?" She craned her neck so she could look at Rick, "You shouldn't let him come up with the plans."

"We had to improvise. There was little time to execute our plan. Now here we go," he said as he placed a wedding veil on her head.

"How'd you make a wedding veil so quickly?"

"I used the curtains from your bedroom."

Ink groaned and threw her head back against the chair. This was ridiculous and she couldn't move because her hands were tied to the back of a chair! Wait, she thought as she managed to slip her hand into her back pocket, she had a nail file. If she could keep them distracted enough, she'd be able to saw through the ropes. Furiously, she began to saw as Rick walked over the Gerry.

"He should be up here any-"

Gerry smashed the keys of the piano again,_ "You have come here, for one purpose, and one alone, since the moment I first heard you sing, I have needed you with me to serve me to sing, for my music, my music."_

"For gods sake, I don't even sing!"

She could hear running down the hallway. The door slammed open revealing the Phantom glaring down at them all.

"What in the name of Faust are you two doing?" Erik roared.

Gerry burst into tears, "It was Rick's idea!"

"What?" Rick lost his composure, "It was your idea too, brother!"

"What-" Suddenly Erik saw Ink wearing a wedding veil, tied to a chair, looking entirely unamused. He turned back to the two Phantoms who were anxiously wringing their hands.

"We wanted to prove to her that we were-"

"Out."

Rick tried to interject, but Erik pointed to the door. He loomed over all of them, his authority making him appear to be almost 7 feet tall. Gerry whimpered and started to scramble to the door, but Rick held onto him. It seemed that Rick was trying to put on a brave face and stand up to him. The Phantoms stared each other down, each daring the other to back down. Ink tried to not let her amusement show as she continued to free herself. She was at the very least halfway through the ropes she was cutting through.

"Get. Out. If you don't it won't matter if you're my brethren. I will kill you."

"Well technically you can't cus-"

His gold eyes flashed darkly, "Technicalities are nothing to me."

"Fine," Rick huffed, "you win! We're aren't scary, we've grown soft, but you aren't the scariest either! Come on Gerry, let's go bother Scottie instead."

They both trudged out of the room, Erik standing behind them until they were almost entirely down the stairs. Swiftly, he then returned to the music room. To Ink's mild surprise, there was a look of concern to him behind his mask.

"Are you..."

"Fine. They were just trying to prove a point," she said blandly.

"Which was how terrifying they could be?"

"Yes, they thought if they kidnapped me, Blaze would come up and try to rescue me and then they could attack him to defend their titles as Phantoms."

"But Blaze didn't come up," Erik tried to not sound like he gloating as he walked towards her.

She shrugged, "He knows when to pick his battles and he knows when I can fight my own."

With a smirk, she finished cutting through the ropes and freed her hands, showing him her new freedom with nail file still in hand. Erik nodded, giving her his. She took his hand and rose up. While Erik was a insane masked genius, at least he was polite. Idly rubbing her wrists to regain circulation, she thanked him.

"So they were basically trying to recreate the final lair scene? That's why you've got the veil?"

"Yeah, I bet it looks pretty stupid."

"It looks fine," he awkwardly said. Mainly, he didn't want her to know that he actually thought the contrast of the veil made from the bedroom curtains and her hair looked lovely.

"Look at you, Erik, actually giving out compliments. It's like you're a changed man," Ink proclaimed sarcastically.

"Perhaps you've just seen how much better I am compared to my counterparts."

"Are you a tad bit jealous? None of you can really be my favorite Phantom, I don't want Leroux or ALW phangirls to get upset at me. Favoritism, at least out loud, wouldn't be good."

"So you do have a favorite?"

She scoffed, "Like I'd tell you."

They both shared a small grin afterward. Sure kidnappings and veils were bothersome, but they had grown used to it. Together. Without even thinking, as they passed the piano, Ink's free hand reached out and played the last stanza Gerry had attempted to play perfectly. Erik paused, listening in surprise.

"I don't know you could play the piano."

Ink lightly brushed off his accusing tone, "Not really. What Gerry was playing isn't very hard to play."

He suspiciously looked at her a moment longer till they continued their descent back to where everyone else was. Ink tried to not give an audible sigh of relief. With just a couple notes on a piano, she'd almost slipped up and her small ruse would be at its end. Hopefully, Erik was satisfied with her answer and wouldn't be keeping a close eye on her.

Unfortunately, he didn't believe a word she'd said. And so he kept his eye on her.

That was how he knew she wasn't sleeping, hours later when they went to bed. Ink had been pretending to be asleep for over an hour now. Keeping up this charade, he too pretended to be asleep and he kept it up after she sat up in bed and looked at him before leaving the bedroom. Waiting a moment, he then followed behind her.

A mere shadow in the darkness.

"Blaze?" she softly called out, unaware of who was behind her.

"Come outside with me," Blaze held his hand out to her which she took. "There's something I wanted to ask you."

Deep down, Erik knew what the question was going to be, but he strove to ignore it as he followed them outside. The forest surrounding the house had plenty of trees to hide himself in. Staying in the darkness, he followed the couple down a pathway that led to a lake.

"It's cold," she said with a shiver.

"Just bare it for a little longer, darling." He practically begged.

"Why have you brought me here?"

"Because I know you love the stars, because we've had so many fond memories here, and because I love you, more than anything in this world. More than life, more than music."

"Blaze, are you-"

He dropped down to one knee and with a shaking hand, opened up a small box to reveal a sparkling diamond ring,"...Darling, will you marry me?"

A soft cry echoed through the woods, not heard by the Mary Sue Killer who at the same time gasped. However, if she had looked up, she would have seen two yellow stars in the dark. They were a little lower than the horizon and oh how they burned.

"...Yes."

**Luxa: Doesn't sound like Erik's happy. Oh dear... Reviews are loved! Thank you guys for brightening my day**


	38. Chapter 38

**Chapter 38: Changes**

She woke the next morning with a genuine smile on her face, "Good morning."

Blaze was already up, laying on his side, looking at her. With a smile he kissed her forehead before taking her up into his arms. It was nice to wake up with one another once more. After all, it had been quite a long time since they were able to with Phantoms and Mary Sues in the way.

"A good morning and a wonderful night."

Laying her head on his chest, Ink nodded. After his proposal, they had taken the rowboat across the lake to Blaze's private music room which he had made out of a refurbished gazebo. Most of the night, their voices had soared together with Blaze's accompaniment on the piano.

"Lucy Darrenson has a nice ring to it," she finally said.

"Oh god yes it does. Now," he sat up, sliding her into his lap, "we need to have a quick breakfast and then get on the road. While you were being kidnapped last night, I got a call that we have to rehearse today and tomorrow for the gala."

"We have to leave already?"

He was just as disappointed as her. If the world ran his way, they'd stay here alone forever. But, obligations held them tightly, pulling them apart reluctantly. Wrapping his arms around her, Blaze lightly kissed her neck.

"We'll be able to come back soon," he whispered

Ink pulled away slightly, "But I won't be able to... My job-"

"Quit your job."

"What?!"

"You heard me," he said. "Quit your job. I have plenty of money, we'll never have to worry. You can finally pursue your dream of singing again."

Ink bit her lip and shook her head in distress, "You know I can't quit now, right in the middle of this revolution. They'd probably call treason on me right on the spot!"

"Then after," Blaze started to beg. "After the revolution, marry me and quit your job."

"I..."

To be able to pursue her singing career, the thing she had to give up because she couldn't afford it... She would have to quit killing Mary Sues. She would have to leave Erik. Blaze and her would be able to live the life they wanted to. However, the changes that came with it troubled her slightly. It was so much to take in. Blaze could see her distress and held her tightly, possessively.

"Give into the love and music."

"Yes..." Ink breathed before thickly swallowing and saying again, "Yes, I will. After the revolution is over."

"Thank you, Lucy. My darling, my angel. I love you.

She kissed him, "I love you too."

"Now, breakfast," he gathered his fiancée up in his arms and walked out the doors.

"Blaze," she laughed, flustered. "My nightgowns riding up!"

"Is that so? I guess I'll have to fix that, M'lady."

Ink squirmed, "Don't you dare tickle me! Blaze!"

Her laughter was music to his ears. However, at the bottom of the stair was the Phantom, arms crossed. Blaze stopped on the stairs, looking down at him. Erik had changed his mask, instead of the white one, which showed his chin and mouth, he now wore a full black mask which made him look emotionless. Glaring at him for a second, Erik then vanished.

"Blaze? What's wrong? Why'd we stop?" She asked, her eyes only on him durning the whole encounter.

"Nothing, dear."

Blaze then set her down when they reached the end of the stairs. Ink searched his face curiously, but then grabbed his hand. He touched the engagement ring on her hand reassuringly as they walked into the kitchen.

"Well?" Scottie demanded as soon as they stepped in. Ink shyly smiled and raised her hand which still held Blaze's, the ring glittering in the morning light. Scottie's hoots of delight bounce off the walls.

Rick patted her on the back, "Congrats, doll!"

"Yeah," Gerry piped in, "we are happy for you! Can I be a bridesmaid? When's the wedding?"

"We've decided to wait," she told them all.

"Good for you. I propose a toast!"

Rick and Gerry then ran to the toaster and plucked out 4 slices of toast. Ink snorted at their literal taking of the phrase, but happily took half a piece of toast from them when they distributed it. Raising it up with a cheer, they all ate their toast in a content silence. Blaze told everyone that they needed to pack quickly and get back on the road so they'd make it to the city in time to drop the Phantoms off at the apartment and for Scottie, Ink, and Blaze to get to the rehearsal. He covered for Ink, saying that she'd be working backstage.

"I think we've almost got ready for the car," Ink said. "I feel like I'm missing something though..."

Scottie rolled her eyes, knowing what her best friend had forgotten like she usually did,"Where's your backpack?"

"Dammit, that's it! It's still upstairs."

She raced up to get it, opening the door to the guest room only to find Erik standing by the bed next to it. For a second the Mary Sue Killer skidded on the wooden floor before coming to a stop. She had forgotten all about him. Right now, he didn't look pleased. He had changed into his 'I'm angry at the universe' black mask. That was certainly her least favorite mask. How would she explain this to him?

"H-Hi."

"Hello," he replieyd coolly. "Erik believes a congratulations is in order."

"I didn't know you heard."

"Erik heard."

In actually, he had seen. But he didn't want to tell her that. Erik walked towards her, trying to keep his emotions in check. Last night had... wounded him, to say the least. He didn't want to say heartbroken but no other words could describe how he felt after she said yes. They couple had begun to cross a lake when he returned back to the bedroom. He could not bare to see the sight before him anymore. Ink, currently, seemed to be searching for something to say but was at a loss.

"Erik,I- Um... We are almost ready to leave. Did you pack for us?"

"Erik packed up what he could. There wasn't much."

It would have been better if he was really angry. Not this cold, apathetic air he was giving. Or this awful third person stuff again. She mumbled a thank you and then quickly fled. The Phantom slumped a little bit as she left, but then straightened up. He would not feel- no- he could not feel anything. Nothing at all. He was a fictional character and she was his Mary Sue Killer. Yes, she was his, but not in the way he... Gritting his teeth, he banished those thoughts and stormed out. The sooner this awful trip was over, the better.

The car ride back to the city was painful to say the least. Blaze and Ink sat up front, but due to the fact Gerry wasn't a toddler anymore, someone had to sit on someone else's lap. Scottie had willingly volunteered to sit on Rick's lap, saying it was a sacrifice for the greater good. At first, everything had gone alright, but then for fun Scottie and Rick decided to see who could create the best Phantom of the Opera pick up line.

"I'm must be the chandelier, cus I want to come down on you."

Blaze lightly touched Ink's shoulder and let his hand rest there.

"Let's make the Music of the Night."

Erik and Blaze made eye contact for a moment, their eyes narrowing.

"There's a lot that can happen Beneath a Moonlit Sky."

Ink grew extraordinarily paranoid, swearing she could hear Erik breathing behind her.

"The candelabras aren't the only things rising tonight."

"Oh my god, shut the hell up," Ink finally snapped at them causing them to snicker but go quiet until they reached the city and the apartment.

"That was stifling," Scottie commented, right after they dropped off the Phantoms. Ink had given Erik the key, telling him they'd be back in a couple hours. Stonily, he had accepted. "Seriously, you two have some Cold War thing going on?"

She huffed, crossing her arms,"I don't know. He's just..."

Ink drifted off, never finishing her sentence. Her fiancé gripped onto her shoulder tighter. He knew what she was thinking about. Surprised at the pressure, she looked up at him only to see his eye ablaze. Never before had she seen him like this.

"Uh... Guys? Blaze, you need to look at the road, we're going into heavy traffic up ahead."

He turned back to the wheel at Scottie's interjection, eyes dark."Let's go sing."

Ink nodded but looked out the mirror. In the rear view mirror, she could see Erik standing outside the apartment complex. His cape fluttering in the wind, his gold eyes focused solely on her. With a thick lump in her throat, she looked away for a minute. They had starting to get along so well. He had been actually really sweet to her. For a moment or two she thought there was something...

No. He was back to talking in third person, being cold and rude. What a fool she was to think it would be any different. This was how it was supposed to be and in a few months, she'd be done with all of this. She'd quit her job and marry Blaze. Never again would she have to see Erik. Looking back up in the mirror, she saw that Erik had vanished. Ink let out a breath she was holding and watched the rest of the world go by.  
Finally, she said, "Yes, let's go sing."

Of course, unbeknownst to the other, two people were trying to not think of the other and failing.

_"Don't think about the way things might have been," _Ink absentmindedly sang to herself as she opened the car door and made her way into the theatre, not really ready to perform once more.

**Luxa: It seems like there's some unsaid emotions running amuck... Over 200 reviews now! Wow, thank you all so much. Coming up next, the gala!**


	39. Chapter 39

**Chapter 39: The Gala**

For the next two days, Ink and Erik rarely crossed paths. She was either spending all her time at the theatre or was hidden away at Blaze's apartment. When ever they did bump into each other in between transitions, there was a cold silence as they looked at each other before Ink awkwardly looked away and walked on. However, Erik noted silently that she looked tired. For some reason, working backstage for the gala rehearsals was taking its toll. He didn't say anything though, merely keeping his eye on her and his heart under lock and key.

The Mary Sue Killers had constantly been at rehearsals and the Phantoms had been holed up in the apartment. This didn't bother Erik in the slightest but it would have driven Gerry and Rick mad had they not found Scottie's Xbox. They soon became obsessed with spending the day playing video games while Erik kept himself cooped up in the practice room, writing music.

"Gerry, there's Zombies over at two o'clock!"

"Pew pew pew!" Gerry happily shouted as he mashed his controller's buttons.

"Morning boys! Have you been playing all night? Damn..." Scottie whistled, impressed as she came downstairs with her violin case. Today was the day of the gala and Scottie wanted everything to be ready for tonight. Her performance had been perfected and she was prepared, but her best friend on the other hand was slipping. A sharp knock on the door made her forget about the video game playing Phantoms. Opening door, she sighed when she saw Blaze was there with a scowl. Ink wasn't the only one in an off mood. Blaze had gotten much more irritable lately.

"Where's Lucy? She was supposed to come over half an hour ago to practice with me one last time."

"I'll get her, I'll get her. Calm down," she paused for a moment. "Is something wrong going on between you two? You were both so happy getting engaged and now..."  
Blazes mouth tightened as he remained silent, waiting.

"INK!" She yelled, "Come down!"

Moments later, Ink wearily trudged over, hair rumpled and dark circles under her eyes.

"Sorry," she whispered and silently followed after him to his apartment.

As soon as Ink shut the door behind them, Blaze turn on her. "What is wrong, Lucy? Why have you been you acting like this?"

"I said I'm sorry," she defensively crossed her arms and looked away. "I've been stressed, that's all."

"It's more than that and you know it. When we've been rehearsing, you haven't even looked at me. There's no passion in your acting, in your songs! You are so withdrawn. Lucy, Lucy, why?"

"Don't you realize how uncomfortable it is for me to sing those songs now that I know the Phantoms? When you and I perform those song and you look like him..." Ink choked up, worried how Blaze would react. "It feels like I'm singing to him, not you. I don't want that, Blaze! I don't! Not to mention the stress of the fact if we screw this performance up, who knows what will be at stake! Jarvis could kill us!"

He hugged her tightly out of relief, making her give a startled cry. Ink almost wept as Blaze kissed her passionately. The week was taking a toll on her. These long practices, Erik giving the cold shoulder, the revolution. It was all too much. She loved Blaze, she truly did, but everywhere she looked was the Phantom or Jarvis lurking in the shadows.

"I... I was so worried. I thought you didn't want to marry me anymore," he admitted.

"I do want to marry you," Ink said as she cupped his cheek, "But I don't want the Phantom of the Opera to be intertwined in our relationship anymore."

He lead her to the piano, sitting in the corner of his apartment. Obediently, she stood next to the piano's side, where she had practiced many times before. With a sighed, he looked at the libretto for The Phantom of the Opera. While it was true he disliked Erik, this musical had been how him and his darling Lucy had bonded so well and fallen in love. She was his Christine, his muse, his music. Taking her hand firmly, he made full eye contact with her.

"Darling, we can put it all behind us, I promise. But first we have to perform it one last time, for the sake that Jarvis could have our heads if we don't. So I am begging you to please be the passionate singer I know you can be. All you need to do is perform the Phantom melody we've made and then perform your special piece and then we will be done with the Phantom for good."

"You promise?"

He placed a kiss on her hand and lingered there, "This will all be behind us. But for now, you must be Christine."

Ink tried to repress a shudder. Be Christine. She was Christine once more and to be honest she wished she could be anything else.

_"Twisted every way, what answer can I give? Am I to risk my life to win the chance to live?" _she softly sang as Blaze earnestly began to play the notes along with her._ "Can I perform for the man who once destroyed my life? Do I become his prey? Do I have any right? Jarvis kills without a thought, he murders all that's good . . . I know I can't refuse and yet, I wish I could . . . Oh yes- I agreed, but what horrors wait for me in this, the Phantom's opera . . .?"_

_"Lucy, Lucy, don't think that I don't care,_" he sang as he rose from the piano with an excited glimmer in his eye,_ "but all your dreams and all our lives rest on you now."_

There were tears in her eyes as she kneeled on the floor. While Ink was exhausted, a surge of anger filled her at the unfairness of it all. Enraged, she pounded her fists into the floor and curled up into a ball. Blaze stooped down to her and lifted her chin up, receiving a confused look in return.

"Everything is going to be alright. Now, will you sing for me?"

She weakly nodded.

"For only me and me alone?" he pressed, satisfied when she nodded once more. "Excellent, let's warm up."

Hours later, everyone had congregated to Ink and Scottie's living room. Besides Ink who was bundled up in Erik's coat, the Mary Sue Killers looked rather dashing, dressed to the nines. Blaze was in a tuxedo and the feisty Irish woman in a golden floor length gown. Currently, a very shimmering Scottie standing in front of the tv so Gerry and Rick would actually pay attention.

"I told you it was time to leave five minutes ago."

"Can we just record this episode of Project Runway," Gerry begged, "Please?"

"No, it's time to go. You should have told me earlier. Scram, O.G.s!"

"But I wanna know if Michelle gets voted off..."

At the same time both Ink and Erik scoffed and rolled their eyes. The Phantoms were required to go to the gala, mainly since their train back to the fictional world of Erik's Opera House was scheduled right after the gala. Erik was just glad that they could finally leave. Ink, however, gnawed her lip anxiously as they left the apartment mainly at the fact that Erik was going to be in the audience. She thought of her brown curly wig waiting for her backstage and hoped that it'd be a good enough disguise.

As soon as they reacher the theatre, the Mary Sue Killers quickly departed to the backstage area, leaving the Phantoms alone in a sea of characters and citizens with colorful hair.

"Well, perhaps we should get settled into our seats." Rick supplied.

"Erik has the tickets."

"Why are you still doing that third person talking thing?" Gerry asked as he bounding behind them. Erik merely glared at him as he gave a woman at the door their tickets.

"You're in row I," she told him, "center section, ground floor."

Rick thanked her after Erik rudely snatched the programs and the ticket stubs silently. If there was one thing his brother needed to work on, he thought as they made their way to their seats, it was his manners. As they all got seated, Gerry wormed the program out of Erik's tapered fingers. He searched through it eagerly before jabbing excitedly and proclaiming,

"They have us in the program!"

"What?" Erik and Rick both said at once.

"Look, see? It the last performance of the night. The Phantom of the Opera melody being performed by the Mary Sue Killer Academy!"

Rick took it from him, reading it aloud, "A dazzling success last year, the company is once more lead by Blaze Darrenson reprising as The Phantom and Lucy Blot once more gracing the stage as Christine Daae."

Erik growled, eyes flashing, "Of course Erik must watch a performance of his life done by that boy."

The Phantom kept ranting on, occasionally switching into Arabic and French as he cursed his luck. Rick however had a thoughtful look on his face. After all, he was Love Never Dies, the sequel to Phantom of the Opera. Naturally, he loved ALWs music. Gerry on the other hand was trying to fold the program into a paper doll version of his Christine.

"Who's Lucy Blot?" He absentmindedly asked.

The Phantoms all pondered this.

"Erik has no idea."

"Could she be a sister of Ink?"  
"Perhaps," Rick mused. "But it didn't seem like she had a sister. She'd have came with Ink's parents when they briefly visited."

"Maybe Blot is just a common last name here."

Gerry and Rick must have decided that was it and carried on with a conversation about the performances about to begin. However, Erik was deep in thought. He'd seen that name before, Lucy. It was the name of the piece of music he'd found composed by Blaze; Lucy's Sonata. Strange, but then again, strange was a simple way to describe everything he'd encountered. The lights dimmed and he forgot all about the name Lucy Blot as Jarvis himself walked into a spotlight. A burst of frantic applause came from the audience but vanished as soon as the man motioned for them to stop.

"Good evening and welcome to our annual Mary Sue Killer Fine Arts Gala. We thank you all for coming tonight. As you know, our finest performers are lined up for your personal entertainment tonight, but may I first say how... Refreshing it is to see our younger generation not fighting out in the streets, rather putting their talents to use."

Erik scoffed at this and tuned him out. Jarvis disgusted him, especially after how he'd harassed his- No, Erik firmly thought. He want going to think about her. Not now. Shifting in his seat, he pretending to applaud as Jarvis left the stage. Tonight, he was just going to enjoy a performance for once.

Two hours later, Erik was pretty damn close to wringing Gerry's neck.

"My legs are asleep," he whined.

"Quit your yapping," Rick darkly grumbled. "Some people are trying to listen to the show."

To be honest, Erik was mildly impressed by the talent shown at the gala. The two ballet scenes performed were superb, the symphony that had played was good, but he found the dramatic monologue to be dry, though he supposed the odd thing referred to as slam poetry made up for it. One woman had sang some piece from a Broadway show however, and it drove Erik mad how breathy she was during it. Suddenly, the Phantom was elbowed by his much less deformed counterpart,

"Hey look, it's Scottie!"

Scottie Valmeera was indeed up on stage, her dress radiant in the light, a violin posed in her hands. She was a confident smirk, one of knowing and allure. With a nod of her head, she began to play. Erik closed his eyes and simply listened. Scottie was playing The Devil's Trill sonata by Tartini. An excellent piece, he had to admit, though he was more surprised the Irish woman actually knew how to play the violin. Perhaps Mary Sue Killers were more musically inclined than he first thought.

After doing a movement and receiving a loud round of applause, she then transitioned into a new piece. Erik tried to stifle a groan. Of course, it was bloody Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber's Angel of Music. That music would never let him be. As Scottie began to walk off stage, a whole invisible orchestra began to play.

_"He's here, the Phantom of the Opera. He's here, the Phantom of the Operaaaaa,"_ a chorus sang from the wings. Fog suddenly enveloping the stage as the overture blared. A young woman with brown curled waltzed out, obviously portraying Christine. A dashing young man fallowed behind her, no doubt Raoul, as he looked at her admiringly from afar.

_"Can it be, can it be Christine? Brava!"_

Meg entered from the other side and held Christine's hand, _"Christine... Christine..."_

The girl payed no attention from either of them, stepping forwards with her arms raised to the audience beseechingly, _"Angel of music, guide and guardian! Grant to me your glory!"_

_"I am you angel of music... Come to the angel of music,"_ Blaze sang as he appeared out of nowhere. Suddenly they were both alone on stage; the Phantom and his Christine. Had Erik not know it was Blaze, he would have said he was a carbon copy of Rick.

_"In sleep he sang to me..."_

"Far too many note for my taste!" One of the mangers sang from the side.

_"In dreams he came..."_

_"And most of them about Christine!"_

The Phantom and Christine now shared the stage with the rest of the cast, their songs blending into each other. It was excellent to say the least. Dancers swirled about as the songs rotated.

"Masquerade! Breathing shadows, seething lies!"

"Those who speak of what they know find too late that prudent silence is wise."

"Your spirt and my voice in once combined..."

And whole cast looked out to the audience,_"The Phantom of the Opera is there... Inside your mind!"_

_"I have brought you..."_

Suddenly Christine was spun from the Phantom to Raoul, "_Why have you brought me here?"_

_"Track down this murderer he must be found!"_

The Phantom pulled her back, "_Since the moment I first heard you sing. I have need you with me to serve me to..."_

_"Say you'll share with me one love, one life time! Say the word and I will follow you!" _Raoul begged and tugged on her sleeve. Christine looked at both of them, frightened and confused, she sunk to her knees with her dress puddling about her.

_"Poor fool he makes me laugh, hahaha..."_

_"You can fool any friend who ever knew you!"_

_"Sing Prima Donna once more..."_

_"Who is this strange angel?"_

Erik rather felt disoriented. The stage was full of such color and fog and singing and light. In a way is was a mess, but the chaos was so organized that it made the whole performance seem like a whole hallucination. Perhaps that was what they were going for because now everything was a blur, everything besides Christine who was frozen on the ground looking terrified. The girl, the apparent Lucy Blot, playing her had a lovely voice but she seemed hesitant. She was alone on stage now, everyone else seemingly vanished.

_"Twisted every way what answer can... I..."_

Christine could not even finish her sentence. Wether it was staged or not, she choked and hid her face in her hands. Out of the shadow, the Phantom gently lifted her up to her feet and held her to him,_ "Nighttime sharpens, heightens each sensation... Darkness stirs and wakes imagination..."_

_"Past the point of no return"_ she sang stronger now as she faced him,_ "the final threshold. The bridge is crossed so stand and watch it burn. We've past the point of no re-"_

_"Fear can turn to love you'll learn to see to find man behind the monster..."_

_"Keep your hand at the level off your eyes!"_

Raoul came back on stage, "_Let me lead you from your solitude. Share each day with me..."_

_"Each night, each morning..._" she walked off stage with him. Blaze trembled with emotions before raising his masked face to the lights.

_"You alone can make my song take flight, it's over now the music of the night!"_

The crowd responded with such enthusiasm, Rick and Gerry as well. Erik politely clapped. While it had been good, he was just glad it was over and he could finally go home. More music played as the cast came out and took their bows. That is, everyone besides Christine and the Phantom. Not that Erik noticed, he'd already gotten out of his and was about to tell his brothers it was time to go when he heard the most heavenly sound.

_"Ah! C'est la voix du bien-aimé! A son appel mon coeur s'est ranimeé! Au milieu de vos éclats de rire, démons qui m'entourez j'ai reconnu sa voix! Sa man, sa douce main m'attiré! Je suis libre! Il est là! Je l'entends! je le vois! Oui, c'est toi! je t'aime! Les fers, la mort même ne me font plus peut. Tu m'as retrouvée! Me voilà sauvée! C'est toi!  
Je suis sur ton coeur!"_

It was the final trio from Faust. The breath knocked out of him, the Opera Ghost sat back in his seat. Lucy Blot, whoever she was, was in her Christine costume and singing the role of Marguerite and by the gods he hadn't heard something so beautiful in decades.

Blaze who was unmasked and with an unmarred face began to sing as Faust, _"Oui, c'est moi! je t'aime! Malgré l'effort même du démon moqueur, je t'ai retrouvée, te voilà sauvée, C'est moi, viens, viens sur mon coeur!"_

The song continued on with Erik in a daze the whole time. Not since Christine had heard such a pure, well trained voice. It was clear why this Lucy had been tentative in her earlier performance. She was not trained for musical theatre no, she was trained for the limelight of the opera.

_"Anges! Anges radieux!"_ she sang against Blaze. Her eyes were closed as she reached her hands up to the heavens as if she was an angel returning back to where she had came, "_Portez mon âme au sein des cieux! Dieu juste, à toi je m'abandonne! Dieu bon, je suis à toi! Pardonne! Anges purs, anges radieux!"_

The applause from the audience was thunderous. Leaping to his feet Erik joined them with an sudden burst of passion. He wanted -no- needed to meet this girl.

"She was amazing, wasn't she?"

Erik looked down at Rick, "Indeed. Phenomenal."

They left had before anyone else had gotten up. Earlier on, they'd promised that they'd meet the Mary Sue Killers at the backstage door before they left. Erik paced about in the ally. Obviously, he wanted to meet Lucy but he had no idea how. Also, he doubt Ink would like that. Ink. His throat tightened.

"Hey boys," Ink said tiredly as she propped open the door and walked down the stairs with her suitcase.

"Hey, Doll."

"Hiya Ink! Scottie and Blaze did really good!"

"Is that so? Well, I'm sure he'd be honored to hear that from a genuine Phantom. I've already said my goodbyes though, so... Ready to go home? Erik?"

"Who's Lucy Blot? Erik wants to know."

Ink tried to not let her breath catch when he said her actually name. Smoothly, she told him, "Lucy's my cousin. I don't get to see her much, but she introduced Blaze to me."

"May Erik meet her?"

"No," she shook her head. "She already went home. Besides we've got a train to catch."  
The foursome began to walk down the street quietly. Somewhere a car alarm went off. Ink kept her eyes on the ground, careful to not step in the glass front broken windows. She took a deep breath before looking up at the tall man gliding beside her. They were both behind Gerry and Rick by a few feet.

"Why did you want to meet her?"

"Erik merely wanted to thank her."

"Thank her?" Ink echoed incredulously. His explanation left her puzzled.

He paused before saying, "Yes, she has quite a gift. To hear such an angelic voice is an honor for Erik."

The Mary Sue Killer went back to looking down at her feet, trying to not let the heat rise to her face. She hadn't expected him to say something like that. Well, she had hoped for a compliment or at least some recognition of her voice, even though he did not know it was hers. This though... it had rattled her a little.

"I'll... I'll pass that onto her somehow, okay?"

Erik took the suitcase from her hands, his gloved fingers brushing against hers, "Thank you."

"Don't mention it."

They didn't talk again to each other until they had reached home.

**Luxa: Super long chapter! Reviews are loved!**


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